CAMBRIDGE -- An adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump doubled down Tuesday on comments he made saying that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason.

But New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldasaro, a Republican who co-chairs Trump's national veterans' coalition, stressed that he was not saying someone should assassinate Clinton.

"The liberal media took what I said and went against the law and the Constitution and ran with it, and they said that I wanted her assassinated, which I never did," Baldasaro told The Republican/MassLive.com. "I said I spoke as a veteran, and she should be shot in a firing squad for treason."

Baldasaro first made the comments in July on the "The Kuhner Report" on WRKO-AM Boston, when he said, "Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason" because of her use of a personal email server when she was secretary of state.

Trump himself recently made headlines for saying that "maybe there is" something gun owners can do if Clinton gets elected president and appoints Supreme Court justices. Trump's campaign later said he was referring to political organizing, although critics said his comments could incite violence against Clinton.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens at left as Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative, speaks during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, May 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A reporter for The Republican/MassLive.com asked Baldasaro on Tuesday, after an unrelated event in Cambridge, whether he still stands by his remarks.

Baldasaro said his comments were in accordance with U.S. law establishing the death penalty for treason. He suggested that Clinton's use of a private email server could be considered treasonous.

"That's aiding and abetting the enemy by those emails on letting (out) names of Secret Service special agents, our veterans, on those emails," Baldasaro said.

Asked if he was concerned about the impact of his rhetoric on someone who might take it upon themselves to act violently, Baldasaro said, "No. ... Americans are better than that."

"What you in the liberal media consider rhetoric, I consider freedom of speech," Baldasaro said.

Baldasaro said if people are worried about the impact of him talking about the law on treason, "Maybe they need to take it off the books if they're that worried." He compared it to someone saying a person who killed a police officer should get the death penalty, which is the law in New Hampshire.

Asked whether he had spoken to Trump about his views, Baldasaro said he had. "Donald Trump, he might not agree on the way I said it, but I said it as a veteran," Baldasaro said.

Baldasaro said the law is "in black and white."

"If people are that stupid and don't understand, that's not my fault," he said.