Florida Republican candidate caught on recording saying he’ll send ‘Russian and Ukrainian hit squad’ after rival

A secret recording of William Braddock, who is running for a congressional seat in Florida, has shocked many with a recording of him seemingly threatening to assassinate his political rival.

Speaking to an activist before he was a candidate, Braddock mentions assassinating his GOP competition, Anna Paulina Luna, multiple times.

“I really don’t want to have to end anybody’s life for the good of the people of the United States of America,” he said in audio obtained by Politico. “That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a f**king speed bump in the road. She’s a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood.”

At another point in the recording, Braddock claims he has “access” to a “hit squad” consisting of Russians and Ukrainians.

“Don’t get caught out in public supporting Luna … Luna’s gonna go down and I hope it’s by herself,” he said of Luna, who is running to fill a seat being vacated by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Florida), who has announced his intention of running for governor.

At another point, Braddock claims Luna will “disappear” if polling shows her ahead of him. 

“My polling people are going to charge me $20,000 to do a poll right before the primary. And if the poll says Luna’s gonna win, she’s gonna be gone. She’s gonna disappear,” he said, later suggesting a “few” must be “sacrificed” for the good of the nation. 

The congressional hopeful even says he’s “not joking” about Luna disappearing and it’s “beyond” his control “at this point.” 

Asked about these ‘assassins’ at the ready, Braddock claimed they are “Russian mafia” who will take out a target “up close and personal.”

Braddock has responded to the recording, saying it is “allegedly” him, but he has not yet heard it, and suggested it could have been edited. 

“This is a dirty political tactic that has caused a lot of people a lot of stress and is completely unnecessary,” he said.

Erin Olszewski, who is behind the recording and has been threatened with a lawsuit by Braddock, pushed back and said she did not edit the clip and only recorded Braddock because she was concerned about his “unhinged” anger towards Luna, who has the backing of both Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).

Gaetz tweeted on Thursday that Luna is an “honest person” and he appeared to confirm that he also believes there has been an assassination plot against her.

The release of the recording follows Luna being granted a temporary restraining order from Braddock, after she claimed he was plotting to kill her, along with two other Florida Republicans, Amanda Makki and Matt Tito, both of whom deny involvement in any illegal activity. 

A spokesperson for Luna claimed there are “multiple law enforcement investigations” into her claims and “facts will be public at the appropriate time.”

“I received information yesterday (at midnight) regarding a plan (with a timeline) to murder me made by William Braddock in an effort to prevent me from winning the election for FL-13,” she wrote in her petition for the restraining order, which was granted on Friday. 

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