GOP candidate compares Kenosha shooter to Captain America

J.R. Majewski, a Republican congressional candidate in Ohio, on Tuesday posted a photoshopped image of Kyle Rittenhouse as Captain America. Majewski also retweeted a post that called for Rittenhouse to be cleared of all charges.

Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020 during protests about the police shooting of Jacob Blake. He is currently on trial for murder. Rittenhouse claimed on the witness stand that the shootings were done in self-defense, while the prosecution argued that Rittenhouse provoked the shootings by pointing his weapon at one of the men he fatally shot, Joseph Rosenbaum, who was unarmed.

Captain America is a popular Marvel Comics character created in 1941, known for his history of opposing fascism, including fighting Nazis, on behalf of the oppressed.

Majewski is running to represent Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, a heavily gerrymandered district known as the “snake by the lake,” as it stretches along the coast of Lake Erie. It’s currently held by Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who easily won reelection in 2020 by 27 points. But a proposal under consideration by the state’s Republican-led Legislature could make the seat much more competitive through further redistricting.

Captain American fan art is not Majewski’s first social media offense. In April, Majewski posted a video online in which he said he had raised $25,000 to help others attend the Jan. 6 “Save America” rally in Washington, D.C., where Donald Trump and other speakers encouraged supporters to “stop the steal” just an hour before a mob began its assault on the U.S. Capitol.

“I was able to raise enough money to take a lot of people to Washington, D.C.,” Majewski said.

That same month, Majewski also appeared in a Twitch video stream with Zak Paine (aka RedPill78), a promoter of the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory. In the stream, Majewski solicited donations to support Paine while promoting his own congressional campaign.

Majewski called on viewers to “toss[] some money” at the channel.

The candidate first gained notoriety in 2020, when he painted a Trump logo on the lawn outside of his house. Later, Majewski appeared on Fox News wearing a T-shirt featuring a “Q” logo connected to the QAnon conspiracy. He has also posted content on his Instagram account featuring hashtags related to QAnon.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.