Marines disavow Florida House candidate who said Trump is ‘Antichrist’
The Marine Corps condemned william Upham, a former Marine and congressional candidate in Florida’s 5th District, for making inflammatory statements on social media.upham posted a six-minute video claiming that President Donald Trump is the “Antichrist” and advocating for his assassination. He also described the U.S. as “at war with evil” and “America as Babylon,” asserting that Trump is a false Messiah and enemy of God. Upham cited biblical verses and called for an uprising against perceived enemies, asserting that the contry is spiritually broken under Trump’s leadership. His comments contradict the Marine Corps’ values, leading to public disapproval from military officials, including Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao. Upham, who is running in the Republican primary against incumbent rep. John Rutherford, has a history of military service but was medically retired. While active-duty personnel face strict restrictions on political speech, retirees like Upham are less constrained but can still face disciplinary actions for inflammatory statements.
The Marine Corps on Tuesday renounced a former Marine who is running to represent Florida’s 5th Congressional District after the write-in candidate posted a lengthy video to social media claiming President Donald Trump is the “Antichrist” and calling for his assassination.
William Upham is running for Congress in Florida on a campaign centered on his military service as a first lieutenant, saying he is for “God and country.” Upham medically retired and went on to work as a prosecutor in Pensacola and Jacksonville.
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“The Marine Corps is aware of the disturbing statements made by William Upham, who was medically discharged on May 30, 2025,” the Marine Corps posted to social media. “The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service’s values.”
In a six-minute video post to his X account, Upham said he decided to run for office to “fix our broken political system, to restore bipartisanship, return power to the working class, and to end our system of Washington insiders, extremism, and excuses from our current members of Congress.” The former Marine then claimed he had “come to the realization” that the United States “is broken” under Trump’s leadership because he is an “enemy of God.”
Upham also listed a series of Bible verses and called for an uprising against “enemies” in the U.S. He also cited Trump’s posting of an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus, something he later apologized for, claiming he thought he was a doctor in the image.
“We are at war with evil,” Upham said of the country. “This is a war between God and the Antichrist. There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is the Antichrist. He is a false Messiah, and he is your enemy, and he must be killed.”
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao also condemned the statements made by Upham.
“Unacceptable,” Cao said in a social media post. “William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos.”
Upham then claimed “the Book of Revelation is occurring right now,” referring to the final book in the New Testament that tells of the apocalypse.
“America is Babylon,” he said. “God and his angels have condemned our country because we are drowning in sin.”
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While active-duty personnel have tight restrictions on their First Amendment rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, retirees are not held to the same standard but can still be disciplined for using such language as Upham against the president.
Upham is running against five-term incumbent Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) in the Republican primary. The seat is ranked solid Republican by the Cook Political Report.
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