The son of Martin Luther King Jr. has blasted North Carolina GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson over his alleged “grotesque characterization” of his father.
Martin Luther King III spoke out after Robinson denied claims in a CNN report that he made a series of offensive comments on the message board of a pornographic website a decade ago.
He reportedly called himself a “black NAZI” and said he wished slavery would be reinstated. Robinson also reportedly called Martin Luther King Jr. a “commie bastard” in 2011 and allegedly wrote: “I’m not in the KKK. They don’t let blacks join. If I was in the KKK I would have called him Martin Lucifer Koon!”
Donald Trump has also previously described Robinson as being “better than Martin Luther King.”
The civil rights icon’s son said of North Carolina’s lieutenant governor: “I am not surprised by Mark Robinson’s alleged inflammatory and offensive comments about my father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His praise for slavery, disparaging rhetoric, and grotesque characterization of my dad and his legacy are deeply worrisome for North Carolinians and all Americans who oppose racism and bigotry.”
He added that he would be in North Carolina this week to support the Democratic Party’s nominee for the governor’s office Josh Stein and “local candidates who will stand up for women, Black and Brown North Carolinians, and everyone else who Mark Robinson chooses to disparage.”
The NAACP released a statement saying: “Anyone who identifies as a Black Nazi and supports reinstating slavery has no place running for governor. We’re nonpartisan, but we’re not blind. And we speak out against what is wrong.”
Robinson is adamant that he will remain in the race. He said in a video statement that CNN’s claims were “salacious tabloid trash.”
“You know my words. You know my character,” he said in a message to voters. “Our opponents are desperate to shift the focus here from the substantive issues. We’re not going to let them do that. We are staying in this race.”
