Republican lawmaker Larry Pittman sparks outrage for calling BLM protesters 'vermin' and saying cops should shoot them if they resist

A North Carolina legislator used his personal Facebook page to call Black Lives Matter protesters 'ignorant thugs,' 'criminals,' 'domestic terrorists' and 'vermin.'

Cabarrus County Republican Rep. Larry Pittman posted the comments online after becoming frustrated at several weeks of protests.

'This is war,' he wrote in a lengthy Facebook posting on Monday. 'Our people have a right to expect our leaders to be on our side, not surrender to the lawless, godless mob.' 

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North Carolina state lawmaker, Rep. Larry Pittman (R), has called Black Lives Matter protestors 'vermin'

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In a lengthy Facebook posting, Rep. Larry Pittman (R) suggested those who resisted arrest should be shot

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Pittman singled out the six-block area of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood that protesters have established as an 'autonomous zone' free of police

'These vermin don't care about George Floyd or any other individual, except maybe their financial sponsor, George Soros,' Pittman, who is a pastor, wrote.

'They are bent on destroying our country and our way of life, and they will use any tragedy, any slogan, any excuse to convince clueless people that their radical injustice is justice.' 

His diatribe didn't end there. Pittman, 65, continued saying that if he were in charge, he would order police to arrest 'these domestic terrorists.'

'Whatever stolen goods or money you recover from them will go to help the business owners whose places of business have been invaded … If they resist and attack you, shoot them,' Pittman wrote. 

He also went on to mock police officers who decided to 'take a knee' when faced with protesters.  

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Pittman accused Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D), pictured,  of 'betraying the citizens by allowing the anti-American actions of ignorant thugs to go unchallenged.'

'Law and order must be restored,' he vented. 'Innocent citizens have a right to expect elected officials and law enforcement officers to protect them and their property. They also have a right to defend themselves with deadly force if they are able.'

'I am thoroughly disgusted by the gutless wonders in public office who are bowing down to Black Lives Matter. The mayor of Seattle has betrayed the citizens there by allowing the anti-American actions of those ignorant thugs to go unchallenged. Even some police officers are giving in to the pressure to kneel down to these criminals,' Pittman's post read. 

His post came as a response to nationwide protests that have been seen across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. 

Protestors make their way along the route during a peaceful George Floyd protest through the Town of East Spencer, North Carolina last week

On Pittman's own Facebook page, people were quick to fight back.

'We are at war? Vermin? Thugs? You, Mr. Pitman, have a big problem! You should have no position of authority with that attitude,' wrote one user.

'You are racist and the nerve of you calling yourself a Christian! Racist people like you is why rioting is taking place! You give Cabarrus County a bad name . You should remove yourself!' added another angry resident. 

Pittman is running for his fifth term against Democrat Gail Young in November. Young had her own response to Pittman's outburst.   

'This is just the latest in a long series of incendiary and divisive comments from Rep. Pittman, and I'm deeply disappointed that he would choose to incite violence in these already difficult times for so many families,' Young said in a statement. 'I'll be a leader who seeks to bring us together and I'll work to make sure people in Cabarrus County feel safe and healthy.'     

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Pittman also went on to mock police officers who decided to 'take a knee' when faced with protesters. Pictured, Officers with the Wilmington Police Department take a knee after protesters protestors chanted to 'Take a knee for George' last month

This weekend, Pittman declared on his page how he was going to ignore social distancing rules in the state of North Carolina.

'I haven't drunk [Gov. Roy] Cooper's Kool-aid,' he wrote. 'I'm not going to freak out over someone getting close to me without a mask or gloves. The risk has been seriously exaggerated in order to control people.' 

Pittman has not shied away from controversy in the past. In 2017 he compared Abraham Lincoln to Hitler.

'Lincoln was the same sort of tyrant, and personally responsible for the deaths of over 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional,' he wrote.

He then tried to clarify his statement: 'While both Lincoln and Hitler were obviously bad guys, what Hitler did was worse and I apologize if people thought I was putting them in the same league.'

In 2011 he wrote to the North Carolina General Assembly urging for a return to public hangings.