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Ted Cruz Announces Endorsement From Jerry Boykin, Anti-Muslim, Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist

Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign announced the support of yet another far-right figure today, issuing a press release(link is external) touting the endorsement of Lt. General Jerry Boykin, the executive vice president of the Family Research Council.

Boykin first gained notoriety when he was publicly rebuked(link is external) by the Bush administration for giving speeches framing American military conflicts in the Middle East as a religious conflict between “our God” and Satan. After retiring from the Army, Boykin threw himself into Religious Right activism, eventually landing the number-two post at the Family Research Council. (Boykin's boss, anti-gay extremist Tony Perkins, is also a Cruz endorser(link is external).)

Boykin’s career in the military came under further scrutiny last year when the Intercept reported that Boykin — who now frequently accuses the Obama administration of persecuting Christians at home and abroad — created a Pentagon program that used unwitting missionaries as spies. (link is external)

His career as an activist has featured plenty of the same Holy War rhetoric for which he first became known, combined with conspiracy theories about President Obama as a terrorist sympathizer and a vision of Jesus as a “man’s man” who will return carrying an AR-15(link is external). He is deeply involved(link is external) in both anti-Muslim activism and the fringe “dominionist” movement that seeks conservative Christian control over the U.S. government.

Just a few lowlights of Boykin’s career:

  • Thinks Christians should act more like ISIS(link is external) and be “willing to die” for their God.

  • Blamed Obama and his supporters for the shooting at an Oregon community college, adding that we here at Right Wing Watch use “the exact same tactics” as ISIS and Al Qaeda to encourage attacks on Christians(link is external).

  • Warned that Muslim-Americans, including Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and John Kerry’s son-in-law, are undermining national security(link is external).
  • Suggested that the repeal(link is external) of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell led to the “absolute destruction” of our military.
  • Said that “God’s army(link is external)” must fight the “evil” of gay rights.