Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast's sole GOP Primary challenger thinks he should be behind bars for wearing an Israel Defense Force (IDF) uniform.
Rick Wiles, an antisemitic conspiracy-peddling media mogul who qualified last month to run in Florida's 21st Congressional District, said Mast's donning of IDF attire he acquired through volunteer service was "treasonous."
He vows, if elected, to introduce the "Brian Mast Foreign Military Uniform Anti-Treason Act" to make such an action by a member of Congress or their staff punishable by 10 years in prison.
"Brian Mast dishonored every member of the American Armed Forces and all our veterans by wearing an IDF uniform and volunteering to serve in Israel," Wiles said in a statement Monday.
"Mr. Mast cannot be trusted with classified national security information that would benefit Israel."
Mast, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who lost both his legs in 2010 after stepping on an improvised landmine in Afghanistan, has been lauded by The Times of Israel as "a vocal supporter of Israel and Israelis." He is an evangelical Christian.
In January 2015, two years before he took office, he volunteered with the IDF at a base outside Tel Aviv packing medical kits and moving supplies. On Oct. 13, less than a week after Hamas terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped hundreds of others in what President Joe Biden called the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust, he wore his IDF uniform on Capitol Hill in a display of unity with the country.
Wiles called it "undignified and outrageous behavior."
"Should we have a National Foreign Military Uniform Costume Day? If Mast can wear an IDF uniform to Congress, why can't others wear Chinese, Ukrainian, French, or Russian army uniforms?" he said. "Mr. Mast's traitorous behavior crossed the line and opened the door for more members to wear foreign uniforms in Congress."
Wiles is the host and founder of TruNews, an ultraconservative outlet founded in 1998 that Wikipedia describes as a "far-right fake news website." The Southern Poverty Law Center placed TruNews on its "hate map" in 2022, when Wiles was also discussed in a congressional presentation the Anti-Defamation League gave on domestic extremism.
YouTube banned TruNews in 2020 after Wiles called the impeachment of Donald Trump a "Jew coup." That same year, PayPal and donor management companies Bloomerang and Spreedly stopped processing contributions to the site.
Among Wiles' most high-profile antisemitic statements: deceased hedge fund billionaire and serial sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli agent bent on blackmailing U.S. politicians into supporting Israel; Israel and a "Jewish mafia" orchestrated John F. Kennedy's assassination; Israel attacked the U.S. on 9/11 and framed Muslims; Jews seek to obtain control of countries to "kill millions of Christians"; and the U.S. outbreak of COVID-19 started at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington.
In a May 2021 post to TikTok, Wiles asserted, "Our leaders are lowlife scum that screw little girls so the Jews can screw America. … We've allowed Kabbalah-practicing Jews to defile the nation."
Wiles said he's challenging Mast because of the Congressman's criticism of the "God-awful condition" that Fort Pierce's local leaders have the city in and Mast's past support for an assault weapons ban.
He also wants to discontinue military funding to America's allies, particularly — and unsurprisingly — Israel, which he accused of conducting a "genocidal war against the Palestinian people." White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated Monday that the White House does not view Israel's activities as genocidal.
Wiles remains unconvinced, asserting that continued subsidization of overseas wars is evidence that "Congress has lost its mind."
"The Congress spends $1 trillion every 100 days that it must borrow from foreign lenders so that Washington can give away the money to foreign governments," he said. "It's time we take care of America."
Wiles, who qualified for the CD 21 race on April 25, is Mast's sole Primary challenger this cycle. He filed to run May 6 and is not yet required to report campaign finance activity.
The winner of that contest will face 25-year-old Thomas Witkop, the only Democrat running. Write-in candidate Elizabeth Felton also qualified.
CD 21 covers northeast Palm Beach County as well as Martin and St. Lucie counties. The Primary Election is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.
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