Gold Star Father Khizr Khan to Campaign for Hillary Clinton in Virginia

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Gold Star father of a Muslim-American soldier who has recounted his son’s death at the hands of a suicide bomber in Iraq — the same father who lambasted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump this summer for his proposed ban of Muslims with the words “you have sacrificed nothing” — plans to hit the campaign trail in Virginia on Wednesday in support of Hillary Clinton with a message aimed at the area’s large military population.

Khizr Khan, formerly of Silver Spring, Maryland, and now of Charlottesville, Virginia, and the father of Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan, who was killed June 8, 2004, in combat in Baquabah, Iraq, will campaign in Hampton Roads. According to the Clinton campaign announcement, Khan will speak about Trump’s “repeated attacks on Muslim Americans in this campaign and his record of disrespect toward American veterans and military families.”

Khan has three scheduled campaign appearances on behalf of Clinton and running mate Sen. Tim Kaine. The stops include a visit with community leaders and veterans at a Norfolk mosque; a meet-and-greet with veterans and elected officials at Croaker’s Spot restaurant; and a volunteer appreciation event at the Norfolk campaign office for Clinton.

SEE ALSO: Father Of Fallen Muslim-American Soldier Has Tearful Question for Trump

In August, an online site was started to persuade Khan, a lawyer in Charlottesville, to run for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 58th District next year. It's slogan is "Yes We Khan."

According to the fundraiser established on Crowdpac set up to draft Khan, he "is someone who has achieved the American Dream and made the ultimate sacrifice for this country."

One supporter called Khan an "honorable man" and said more such people are needed in public life. Another commenter on the site said, "I support Khizr Khan because he understands the Constitution, and has a forward-thinking vision of what America can be.”

On Friday, the Clinton campaign posted a YouTube video that shows Khan as he walks through his house, tenderly holds his son’s uniform hat, clutches the American flag presented at his son’s military funeral, and sorts through photos of his son in uniform.

“He saved everyone in his unit. Only one American soldier died. My son was Capt. Humayan Khan. He was 27 years old, and he was Muslim-American,” Khizr Khan says through tears. “I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?”

The slain soldier's father and mother, Ghazala Khan, first denounced Trump this summer at the Democratic National Convention and told voters that their family wouldn’t be allowed in a United States under a Trump presidency — and their Muslim son wouldn’t have had the chance to fight for a country that believes in religious freedom.

The couple again denounced Trump following the Oct. 9 presidential debate, when the New York businessman claimed that if he were president, Capt. Khan would still be alive, because he would not have sent troops into Iraq.

"Disgraceful comment. It is total no empathy, not only for Capt. Humayun Khan. He died for a purpose," Khizr Khan told NBC News. "For this candidate to say, 'Had I been the president, they would be alive,' is such a disgrace."

SEE ALSO: Father of Fallen Muslim Soldier Tells Trump: 'You Have Sacrificed Nothing'

The Khans said in a statement that their fallen son is an American hero buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Born to Pakistani immigrants in the United Arab Emirates, Humayun Khan grew up in Silver Spring and graduated from the University of Virginia.

“We also know that Donald Trump is not telling the truth when he says he was against the Iraq war,” the Khans said previously. “Our son served this country with honor and distinction, and gave the ultimate sacrifice. The only thing that Donald Trump sacrifices is the truth."

As patriotic Muslims with undivided loyalty to the U.S., Khan said his family came to the country empty-handed but ready to work hard and contribute to its blessings. He and his wife wanted to raise their three sons in a nation where they were “free to be themselves.”

Khizr Khan spoke for himself and his wife at the DNC in Philadelphia; Ghazala Khan said later she was too emotional about their son to speak in front of a nationwide audience. Trump surmised that she wasn’t allowed to speak because of their Muslim faith, which the Khans vehemently denounced.

The couple had the convention on its feet in July when Khizr Khan asked Trump rhetorically from the stage: “Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,'” Khan said as he pulled a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution from his suit jacket.

He urged Trump to visit Arlington Cemetery, where veterans of every faith, gender and ethnicity are buried.

“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” Khan said to the GOP presidential nominee.

»Screenshots of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, from DNC video footage; screenshots of Khizr Khan and Capt. Humayun Khan, from Hillary Clinton campaign YouTube video; video of Khizr Khan's speech from YouTube; and video of Khan campaign video from YouTube