Greens candidate reportedly posted he wanted to ‘f—ing kill politicians’

An ACT Greens candidate reportedly posted on social media that he wanted politicians to be hanged.

James Cruz, who is running in Kurrajong, posted on social media he wanted to “f—ing kill politicians” and “send them to The Hague and hang them in the street” over their treatment of asylum seekers, The Australian hasreported.

The newspaper also reported that Mr Cruz said he did not “give a shit” about Israeli forces dying “when they couldn’t care less about indiscriminately slaughtering civilians and actively cheer as they die”.

A Greens spokesman told The Australian the posts related to issues of concern for the party, including violence against civilians, corporate accountability. drug harm reduction and people seeking asylum but that Mr Cruz disavowed violence.

“The tone of the posts is impassioned and will be confronting to some, as are the issues themselves. Mr Cruz disavows violence and made those comments over deep pain at deaths of innocent civilians and the treatment of the refugee community, of which he has family and friends,” the spokesman said.

Mr Cruz has previously run as an ACT Greens Senate candidate. A candidate profile said he moved to Canberra from Sydney in 2020 and works as a librarian at the National Library of Australia.

He has been a member of the Greens since 2011 and said he was drawn to the party for its housing policies.

“Growing up in poverty and living in public housing showed me the urgent need for a society that addresses inequality and the growing housing crisis,” Mr Cruz’s profile said.

The Canberra Liberals have blasted the Greens over Mr Cruz’s posts.

“These comments are abhorrent and have no place in ACT politics,” a Liberals spokesman said.

“Shane Rattenbury needs to come out publicly and tell Canberrans if these views are shared by the party and if he knew about the before the candidate was preselected.”

Last week the Greens defended blog posts written by Harini Rangarajan, which compared Osama bin Laden with Jesus Christ.

The party said it was “creative writing” and did not reflect the 20-year-old’s personal views.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury acknowledged the material could be concerning and confronting for the community but said Ms Rangarajan would continue to be a candidate for the Greens and had been clear it was not her personal views.

However the Greens leader acknowledged the party had not been aware of the specific material in the posts, despite the blog account being disclosed as part of the candidate vetting process late last year. That process would be reviewed after the election, he said.

Source: Throwawaydeathgrips