Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) told FOX Business Network that he fears the U.S. government may try to assassinate the whistleblower who leaked information about National Security Administration surveillance programs to the media.

In an interview with FOX Business on Tuesday, Paul said he was worried that someone within the U.S. government might try to use a missile to kill Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old who has been the source of information about two top secret NSA programs.

“I’m worried about somebody in our government might kill him with a cruise missile or a drone missile,” Paul said. “I mean we live in a bad time where American citizens don’t even have rights and that they can be killed, but the gentlemen is trying to tell the truth about what’s going on.”

Paul, father of Kentucky senator Rand Paul (R), also dismissed suggestions that Snowden may defect to a foreign nation such as Russia:

“He's not defecting, there are no signs of that happening,” he said. “It’s a shame that we are in an age where people who tell the truth about what the government is doing gets into trouble...No, I don't think for a minute that he's a traitor.”