WASHINGTON _ Hillary Clinton's campaign warned of a "dangerous" escalation in negative rhetoric directed toward her after a Donald Trump supporter called for the presumptive Democratic nominee to be "shot for treason."
"Donald Trump's overtaking of the Republican Party _ and his constant escalation of outrageous rhetoric _ is in danger of mainstreaming the kind of hatred that has long been relegated to the fringes of American politics where it belongs," Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement.
"This week at the Republican convention, we've seen the clearest embodiment yet of this dangerous phenomenon," she added.
Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative who appeared often at Trump events this year, told a radio interviewer Wednesday that the former secretary of State should be tried for treason for her handling of the 2012 attack on Benghazi, Libya, and for mishandling classified material over her private email account.
"This whole thing disgusts me. Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason," he said in comments noted by BuzzFeed.
He repeated the incendiary comments to the NH1 network, while stipulating that he was speaking for himself and not for Trump's campaign.
"My military mind believes it's treason," said Baldasaro, who says he is a military veteran. "Once you're found guilty, normally it's a firing squad."
Clinton has not been charged with a crime, no less convicted of one.
The Trump campaign responded that the business mogul does not agree with Baldasaro's statement.
But the Republican National Convention has been a showcase for sensational anti-Clinton comments, most notably repeated calls _ often encouraged by headline speakers _ to "Lock her up."
