Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) warned in a tweet on Sunday that the United States is heading towards a civil war.
“America is heading in the direction of another Harpers Ferry,” the conservative lawmaker tweeted on Sunday. “After that comes Ft. Sumter.”
King was referring to the opening shot of the Civil War fired at Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, S. C., on April 12, 1861.
Harper’s Ferry, which was then part of Virginia, and which King also referred to, was a town where militant abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal armory in October 1859, where he sought to start a slave uprising in an action that would later help push the country into a civil war.
{mosads}The Iowa Republican’s tweet also contained a link to an article from a conservative news site regarding protesters staging a camp-out right outside an Oregon Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facility.
King’s remarks come as the Trump administration continues to face opposition over its “zero tolerance” immigration policy.
The policy resulted in the separation of roughly 2,000 children from their parents and guardians since it was introduced in the spring.
Trump ended the separations with an executive order earlier this month. However, it remains unclear how that will effect children already separated from their parents or guardians.