Former Green Party Candidate Claimed to Be Jesus While Killing His Dog With a Hammer

Maryland man Joseph Cryer has been sentenced to more than five months in prison for killing his dog. Cryer told police he was Jesus Christ and had sent the dog to heaven. Yet the story proves even more bizarre: Cryer was a Green Party candidate for mayor of Ocean City who identifies himself as “Joe the JEW” on Facebook and posted a picture of notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.

Cryer was charged on September 10 with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony in Maryland. Police arrived after a woman reported screaming coming from Cryer’s apartment. The man repeatedly yelled, “They killed my dog!” and pointed to a residence as the female officer showed up, The Daily Times reported.

Cryer told the officer he was Jesus Christ and that the dog in the trash can belonged to him. She asked for his name again, and he repeated, “Jesus Christ.” She proceeded to ask what his name was before it was “Jesus Christ,” and to that, he responded, “Joseph Cryer.”

The officer found him with scratch marks on his left hand and dried blood on his pants. She reported finding a “significant amount of blood” in Cryer’s backyard and noticed “flesh of something that was once alive.”

The men went went on to say that the dog “went to heaven to be with my brother.” He said he took the dog’s spirit too heaven because dogs go straight to heaven when they die. He confessed to having hit the dog over the head with a hammer until the dog died. “It was extremely painful,” he said.

Cryer added that the dog was happy being with his brother and he did not miss him. The dog was found with a hole in his head and a cut across his neck. He pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty on December 23.

The Daily Times and the Associated Press noted that Cryer was a candidate for mayor of Ocean City, but they did not identify his party affiliation. While running for the mayor position, Cryer posted on Facebook, “VOTE Joe the JEW Mayor of Ocean City Maryland Green Party.”

The man who killed his dog with a hammer also shared a picture of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan with the caption: “‘My Spiritual Father and Grandfather/w John the Baptist.’ … Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

While it may not be surprising that this deranged individual may be a member of the Green Party, it does seem bizarre that a former Green Party candidate would kill his dog with a hammer.

The Maryland Green Party condemns cruelty to animals as “repugnant and criminal.”

“The mark of a humane and civilized society lies in how we treat the least protected among us. To extend rights to other sentient, living beings is our responsibility and a mark of our place among all of creation. We call for an intelligent, compassionate approach to the treatment of animals,” the party platform declares.

Let’s hope this short prison sentence gives Joseph Cryer the wakeup call he needs.

Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.