A Minnesota Republican Party official resigned Tuesday after an internal investigation determined that person was responsible for a social media post drawing a parallel between mask wearing and Nazi Germany.
The person was a board member of a local affiliate of the Minnesota Republican Party in Wabasha County, the chairwoman of the Minnesota Republican Party tweeted Tuesday. The party conducted an investigation after Jewish Community Action (JCA), an advocacy group for Jewish people in Minnesota, called attention to the post sent from the Wabasha Republicans Facebook page.
“Given that Minnesota rabbis recently spoke out in favor of a mask mandate, comparing that mandate to the Holocaust feels especially disgusting,” JCA tweeted Monday. “We ask the [Minnesota Republican Party] to tell Wabasha Republicans to stop using imagery like this. It betrays a total lack of both empathy and education.”
JCA attached a screenshot of the alleged post to their tweet. The post shows a picture of a Nazi speaking with a jewish man who has a star badge sewn to his jacket. Jews were legally required to wear such identifying badges in Nazi Germany, according to The Holocaust Memorial Center.
Given that Minnesota rabbis recently spoke out in favor of a mask mandate, comparing that mandate to the Holocaust feels especially disgusting. We ask the @MNGOP to tell Wabasha Republicans to stop using imagery like this. It betrays a total lack of both empathy and education. pic.twitter.com/xGMT3cUvvo
— Jewish Community Action (@JCA_MN) July 27, 2020
The caption above the photo said, “Just put on the star and quit complaining, it’s really not that hard.” The caption below the photo said, “Just put on the mask and stop complaining.” (RELATED: Minnesota Couple Who Wore Swastika Face Masks Banned From Walmart)
Jennifer Carnahan, chairwoman of the Minnesota Republican Party, responded to JCA’s post on Monday saying the party does not condone “divisive and harmful posts or language of this nature.” She also said the post was believed to be the result of a hack.
However, Carnahan said Tuesday that the Wabasha Republicans Facebook account was not hacked and that after further investigation the person responsible for the post resigned immediately.
Upon further investigation, the @mngop learned the Wabasha County FB page was not hacked last night, as believed by Wabasha Chair. The offensive picture was posted by a board member who has resigned effective immediately at the our request.
— Jennifer Carnahan (@jkcarnah) July 28, 2020
“We are saddened by the vitriolic post and hope as we move forward that Republicans and Democrats alike will maintain the highest level of integrity, respect, and sensitivity,” Carnahan tweeted. “The Wabasha County Board and MN GOP apologizes for this disappointing post.”
The controversy comes as coronavirus continues to impact the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in March as coronavirus spread rapidly around the world.
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