Joe ‘The Plumber’ Wurzelbacher: “Start Shooting” Undocumented Immigrants at US-Mexico Border

Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher, the outspoken Republican congressional candidate who rose to fame by confronting Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, has once again raised eyebrows by advocating the shooting of undocumented immigrants.

Appearing at a Friday night campaign rally for Arizona state Sen. Lori Klein in Prescott, the Wurzelbacher, who is running for congress in his home state of Ohio, told the crowd of about 125 supporters that the government should “put a damn fence on the border going with Mexico and start shooting.”

“That’s how I feel. I’m not going to hide it because I’m running for an office,” he continued. “I want my borders protected and I’m very, very adamant about that.”

Then, in case no one heard, Wurzelbacher repeated his shocking stance again at a ‘Patriot Rally’ with Klein on Saturday.

“I’m running for Congress. How many congressmen or people running for Congress have you heard, put up a fence and start shooting? None? Well you heard it here first,” he said.

“Put troops on the border and start shooting, I bet that solves our immigration problem real quick.”

Wurzelbacher and Sen. Klein, also a Republican, are both staunch advocates of gun rights. According to the Huffington Post, Klein landed in hot water last year after she pointed her loaded raspberry-pink .380 Ruger handgun at an Arizona Republic reporter’s chest during an interview to show off the weapon’s laser sighting.

“It’s just so cute,” she gushed about the gun as she assured the reporter that although the weapon had no safety, she didn’t have her finger on the trigger.

Klein had glowing praise for Wurzelbacher at Friday’s event.

“Joe is absolutely delightful,” she told the Prescott eNews, which first broke the story of Wurzelbacher’s remarks. “He really has a depth of knowledge of political issues that are facing this country, and he’d be great to get into office.”

While it is unclear if Sen. Klein approves of Wurzelbacher’s plan to shoot undocumented immigrants who attempt to cross into the United States from Mexico, she is no stranger to controversy among Latinos. Klein was accused of racism in 2011 after she asserted that most Hispanic students “hate America” and only want to become “gang members.”

In Arizona, where Mexican Americans form the largest single national origin group, it is illegal to teach or study Hispanic studies in public schools.

Wurzelbacher first gained national attention when he questioned then-candidate Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign about whether his tax plan would harm small businesses. Obama’s GOP opponent Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his running mate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, then embraced ”Joe the Plumber” as a symbol of small business owners who would supposedly suffer under an Obama presidency.

Since then, Wurzelbacher has launched his own political career, occasionally grabbing headlines with what ABC News called his “unfiltered comments.”

For example, this June, Wurzelbacher blamed the Holocaust on gun control.

“In 1939 Germany established gun control; from 1939 to 1945, 6 million Jews, 7 million others, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated,” he said in a video while blasting fruits with a shotgun.

“I love America,” he added.

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