A self-described “Second Amendment Absolutist” backed by President Donald Trump to represent Texas in Congress recreated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a bizarre, recently resurfaced video shows.
Republican Brandon Herrera, 30, was endorsed by Trump on Wednesday in a race to replace Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was pressured by GOP leadership to end his reelection campaign after it was revealed he had an affair with an ex-staffer, who later died by suicide.
Following Trump’s endorsement, a clip resurfaced of Herrera promoting conspiracy theories related to Dr. King’s death, and going as far as recreating the assassination by shooting a target dummy at close range.
In the full video, which Herrera uploaded to his over 4 million YouTube subscribers on his channel “AK Guy” in 2023, the GOP candidate notes that King was an influential civil rights leader “until April 4, 1968, when at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, he was shot and killed by James Earl Ray.”
Herrera then pauses and adds, “At least…according to the FBI.”
Herrera, who has a history of posting edgy, controversial content on YouTube, attempts to recreate the assassin’s shot, firing multiple bullets at a target dummy.
Herrera notes that King bled to death, “thus making him a martyr for the civil rights movement and solidifying him as one of the most influential Americans in history.”
“Or as kids know today, the reason why you get off a day in school in February,” he added, even though the holiday falls on the third Monday in January each year.
Herrera attempted the shot twice, noting in the video that the second was “faithful” to what actually happened. At the end of the video, Herrera shot at the target dummy from close range, laughed, and said: “This is so f****** wrong.”
Concluding the video, Herrera tells viewers: “This is obviously a pretty somber and serious topic, but we’re trying to introduce our own dark and edgy humor like we always do.”
Herrera is currently running as a Republican to represent Texas’s 23rd congressional district, which spans along the Mexico border and is a Republican stronghold.
“Brandon is strongly supported by many Highly Respected MAGA Warriors in Texas, and Republicans in the U.S. House,” Trump wrote in his endorsement Wednesday on Truth Social.
“As your next Congressman, he will work tirelessly to advance our MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Agenda. Brandon will fight hard to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Safeguard our Elections, Champion School Choice, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Brave Military, Veterans, and Law Enforcement, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump added.
Herrera shared the endorsement on X, writing, “Thank you President Trump. It’s now time to take the fight to the Democrats in November and continue working to deliver great wins for TX23 and the rest of the nation.”
Trump’s endorsement comes weeks after a lawyer for the president sent a cease-and-desist letter telling Herrera to stop using his image in a campaign ad as he had endorsed the Republican incumbent, Gonzales, at the time, according to The Texas Tribune.
Trump also seemed to ignore previous comments Herrera made about his son, Barron, on his podcast.
One of the co-hosts said Barron, who was 17 at the time, looked like a “long ventriloquist-like dummy” and another said he “looks like a bully,” according to the Daily Beast.
Herrera then added that Barron is “like nine feet tall” and is “starting to become a meme,” before mockingly impersonating the president’s teenage son.
“Daddy is coming, Daddy is angry,” Herrera joked.
Herrera is running against attorney and former teacher Katy Padilla Stout, a Democrat, for the House seat in November.
Other controversial clips from Herrera’s YouTube channel have resurfaced ahead of November’s election, including footage of him referring to a gun as the “original ghetto blaster,” making Holocaust jokes and talking about owning a copy of Mein Kampf, The Texas Tribune reports.
Despite his problematic online history, Herrera has insisted that accusations that he is antisemitic or a neo-Nazi are smears.
“The accusations against Brandon Herrera are bizarre, desperate, and false,” Herrera campaign manager Kimmie Gonzalez told The Texas Tribune. “Brandon has never done or said anything antisemitic, and he has earned the support of leaders in the Jewish community. In Brandon’s work as a historical firearms educator, he has simulated the execution and poisoning of Adolf Hitler. The misleading clip about Brandon’s rare book collection omits his comments ridiculing and condemning Hitler’s book.”
The Independent has contacted Herrera and the White House for comment.
Internet spectators had a lot to say about the MLK assassination recreation video after it resurfaced Wednesday.
“He uses humor to hide his racism,” one X user commented.
“Entertaining himself and his followers by pretending he could have been MLK’s assassin,” another user wrote. “Clearly a danger to democracy.”
Others took a more lighthearted approach, with one user joking, “Looks like he overcompensates for being named Brandon.”
Another added: “Perfect MAGA low grade moron.”
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