Gun dealers are marketing weapon parts and ammunition using a right-wing slogan widely understood as code for profanity directed at President Joe Biden.
Palmetto State Armory, which operates a 12,000-square-foot gun store in Columbia, S.C., the state capital, is marketing a “LETSGO-15 Stripped Lower Receiver,” which is a part meant for an AR-15-style assault rifle.
The product description on the company’s website says the fire selector on the weapon part features three modes: “’F@CK!’” (Safe), “’JOE!’” (Fire), “’BIDEN!’” (Full-Auto).”
“Love how PSA is in touch with the current Let’s Go Brandon situation,” says one of the comments below the product description. “More than half of America and other parts of the world are chanting. The current administration is destroying our country.”
The company did not respond to NBC News requests for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates threats against the president, declined to comment.
At least two other firms in other states, Culper Precision and My Southern Tactical, are advertising an AR-15 magazine for sale with a “Let’s Go Brandon” sticker.
The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” has become right-wing code for “F--- Joe Biden." It originated from a moment during an Oct. 2 NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, when a driver named Brandon Brown was being interviewed by an NBC Sports reporter. A nearby crowd was chanting something difficult to make out, and the reporter suggested they were chanting “Let’s go, Brandon” to cheer the winning driver. But it became increasingly clear they were saying, “F--- Joe Biden.”
A stripped lower receiver is the part of the AR-15 rifle that contains the serial number, making it the only part of the weapon required to be purchased through a licensed dealer.
Once banned under federal law, the AR-15 has become the most popular rifle in America, making up one in five firearms bought each year, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. There are 15 million in circulation, gun groups say.
Law enforcement officials have said that variations of the AR-15 were used in mass shootings at a Boulder, Colo. supermarket, a Pittsburgh synagogue, Texas church, a Las Vegas concert, a Florida high school and a Connecticut elementary school.
The “Let’s Go Brandon” slogan has been employed by several Republican politicians. The Associated Press reported Republican Rep. Bill Posey of Florida shouted the phrase while ending an Oct. 21 House floor speech with a fist pump. Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina wore a “Let’s Go Brandon” face mask at the Capitol last week, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posed with a “Let’s Go Brandon” sign at the World Series. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s press secretary retweeted a photo of the phrase on a construction sign in Virginia, the AP reported.
Southwest Airlines announced Sunday it was investigating an incident in which a pilot reportedly uttered the phrase over the intercom.
