A Democratic congressional candidate in Michigan has come under heavy scrutiny after a series of inflammatory posts on social media surfaced, including remarks celebrating the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and statements calling for violence against political opponents.
Samuel Smeltzer, 36, who is running as a Democrat in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District under the name Elyon Badger, has described himself as a “homosexual socialist” and an advocate for the “furry” subculture.
Smeltzer, who works as an IT contractor, has repeatedly made comments online that have drawn widespread condemnation from both parties.
Smeltzer’s remarks came shortly after Charlie Kirk’s death. Within an hour of news breaking, Smeltzer wrote on the social media platform Bluesky, “Good things can happen.”
Days later, he shared an image of Kirk, a husband and father of two, with the caption, “How can we defeat evil, if evil is mourned when it’s defeated?”
He later issued a campaign statement describing Kirk as “a white supremacist who preached stochastic terrorism,” blaming the shooting on “gun loving Conservative Christians.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) denounced Smeltzer’s statements as “dangerous and disgusting,” adding that such remarks reflect a deeper problem within the Democratic Party’s activist base.
The committee cited polling showing that only 38% of Democrats believe it is always unacceptable to feel joy at the death of a public figure they oppose.
Smeltzer has also made a series of other controversial statements in recent years.
In various online posts, he has written that “America deserved 9/11,” called Jesus “a communist,” labeled Israel “an enemy of the United States,” and urged the imprisonment of all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Jesus was a communist
— Elyon113 (@elyon113.bsky.social) November 4, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Maine's Graham Platner is hardly the most extreme Democrat candidate running for office.
— Mike Netter (@nettermike) November 11, 2025
Graham Platner, the oyster farmer running for the U.S. Senate in Maine, was exposed last month for making a number of damning comments on social media — including posts where he apparently… pic.twitter.com/SQZ8uxA1NK
He has also posted messages encouraging the killing of billionaires and calling for political retribution against conservatives.
In one social media post, Smeltzer vowed to “round up EVERY SINGLE red hat wearing MAGA and put them in hard labor camps for the rest of their lives.”
I solemnly swear, when I get to office, we WILL round up EVER SINGLE red hat wearing MAGA and put them in hard labor camps for the rest of their lives. If the Republican party wants to kill free speech, then we WILL have our revenge.
— Elyon113 (@elyon113.bsky.social) September 22, 2025 at 9:06 AM
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Despite such remarks, his campaign website describes his platform as focused on “compassionate leadership for a just future.”
Speaking to the Washington Free Beacon, Smeltzer said his campaign is centered on “health care and tax-the-rich” policies and that he intends to represent the “furry” community in Congress.
“The furry community is the ultimate form of freedom in America, and that’s why conservatives hate it and the queer community so much,” he said.
In an interview with Between the Lines, an LGBT magazine, Smeltzer claimed he was “leaning into the furry side of things” because of what he described as targeting by conservative organizations.
“The reason I’m leaning into the furry side of things is the Heritage Foundation has targeted the furry community,” he said.
“They’re going after the queer spaces and organizations where we are allowed to express creative freedom.”
Smeltzer has also criticized his Democratic primary opponents, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, saying, “They can only trudge along and drag this broken cart through the mud; they can’t fix it.”
Brink reportedly did not respond to a request for comment from the Free Beacon.
NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon responded to Smeltzer’s campaign by saying, “Radical far-left lunatics like Samuel Smeltzer expose the liberal brain rot that is now the current state of the Democrat Party.”
The Michigan Democratic Party has not issued a public statement regarding Smeltzer’s comments.
Republican Rep. Tom Barrett, who currently represents Michigan’s 7th Congressional District and is running for reelection, has also not publicly responded.
Smeltzer’s rise has drawn comparisons to other left-wing candidates who have made controversial statements, including Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who faced backlash earlier this year for past social media posts describing himself as a communist and criticizing police and the military.
Both candidates have received attention for comments that have placed their campaigns under national scrutiny.
Smeltzer’s name is expected to appear on the Democratic primary ballot next year, where he faces a crowded field of candidates ahead of the 2026 congressional elections.
