Colorado congressional candidate Erik Aadland, a Republican, says he’s running for office because he wants to re-unify America, but he keeps invoking war and violence to make his point.
In two speeches to the Jefferson County Republican Men’s Club (JCRM), Aadland made the same points: 1) He believes America is in a historic crisis, equal to the Civil or Revolutionary Wars. 2) Americans then were willing to die to save their country, and like them, he is willing to do the same now, as he did while serving in the military. 3) The country is on the brink of collapse, but he wants to avoid violence and is therefore running for office.
Both speeches took place when he was still running for United States Senate. He’s since switched to the congressional race to replace U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), who is retiring at the end of his term.
In his more recent speech from last October, Aadland painted a picture of a country nearing a second civil war.
“What this is calling for in this time of crisis is unparalleled commitment, a willingness to be inconvenienced and to suffer,” said Aadland. “I risked my life for this country. Not many have — not in my generation — but I did it because I love this country and I believe in what it stands for. There are things worth dying for and we’re reaching a point — I want to avoid violence at all costs. That’s why I’m running for the United States Senate. I want to solve this politically.”
Aadland gave his first speech to the JCRM last June. Asking himself rhetorically why he was running for office, he began by equating the current political climate to war, before claiming the 2020 election was rigged and later saying that Donald Trump, who instigated a violent insurrection, restored his hope that conservatives can “take back” America through politics rather than violence.
“We’re in perhaps the greatest crisis this country has seen since the Civil or Revolutionary Wars,” Aadland said. “We are on the precipice of losing this country if we don’t stand up and fight. And I fear for the future of my children. It’s in peril — your future and your children’s future and your grandchildren’s future. It’s on the brink. This country is on the brink of being taken over by a communist government and for perpetuating the communist agenda. We need to we need to open up our eyes and be very aware of that. That’s what’s happening.
“The 2020 election. It was rigged. Absolutely rigged. If you are not looking into it, I think very, very dubious. It was extremely scary. What transpired, there was a significant amount of fraud in the 2020 election.
So for me, as a former combat veteran, somebody who has fought for this country and risked my life for this country, I feel called to duty. And honestly, I think there’s a call to duty for all patriots who love this country to not let it die and not let it go quietly into the night and not let it be transformed by a radical agenda.”
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“With all his flaws. Donald Trump restored my hope that we can take back this country through political action. And that’s the way I want to do it,” Aadland continued. “I want to avoid violence at all costs because I’ve seen what it really looks like in combat. I think there are political means.”
In both speeches, Aadland also echoed his fear that people with anti-American sentiments are attempting to take over or destroy the country. In June, it was the aforementioned, though unspecified “communists.” In October he warned the audience not of enemies with a certain ideology, but rather specific jobs, saying: “Those in power at every level of government are trying to destroy America.”
Watch the rest of the earlier portion of Aadland’s Oct. 2021 speech below:
“The urgency of what is happening is is a crisis of generational proportions. At this time in history, it is equivalent to what our forefathers and foremothers experienced during times like the Civil War and the Revolutionary War and other crises in history,” Aadland said. “Those times people risk everything up to and including their their lives and sacred honor to defend this country.
“I took an oath as an army officer to defend the Constitution, support and defend the Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic. Every member of Congress takes it all the way up to the president. Everyone in the military takes that oath. At this point, though, it’s questionable how many of them are actually honoring it.
“The crisis and the urgency of what we’re experiencing right now is extreme. And see, the thing is, if we all well, everyone in this room, everyone I talked to, everyone I see. If we don’t come together as American people and stand up in this time of crisis, we are going to lose everything we hold dear.
“The writing is on the wall. There are those in positions of power at every level in government who are trying to destroy this country and remake it in a different image, one that is not beholden to the Constitution.”
As the Colorado Times Recorder has previously reported, Aadland’s interest in dangerous conspiracy theories extends beyond the Big Lie. He followed numerous QAnon accounts on the far-right social media platform Parler.
Aadland’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment as to which government officials are trying to destroy America, how he knows this, why he believes the country is nearing violence, and, should he lose his race and therefore isn’t able to enact change as an elected official, if he believes the crisis he sees may yet come to a violent conclusion. This article will be updated with any response received.
