New Jersey School Board Member Under Fire After Posting His 'Life Would Be Complete' If Rep. Rashida Tlaib Dies
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (CBS/AP) — A Toms River school board member is refusing to resign or apologize for social media posts disparaging two Muslim congresswomen and Islam. Dan Leonard said at a school board meeting Wednesday he has a right to free speech as over a dozen speakers chastised him for his personal Facebook posts.
In a post about Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib urging a hunger strike over U.S. treatment of migrants, he wrote: "my life would be complete if she/they die."
In another post he described Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Muslim, as a terrorist.
He also shared a derogatory meme with an image of a bruised "Sharia Barbie' doll in a headscarf.
Leonard said he opposes "Sharia law," not Muslims.
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for Leonard's resignation.
"The bigoted, hateful and threatening social media posts shared by this elected board of education official serve to disqualify him for any position that has responsibility for the safety, security and well-being of New Jersey's diverse student body," CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Sues said in a statement. "The bigoted views expressed by Mr. Leonard have no place in an educational system that seeks to celebrate diversity and encourage students of all faiths and backgrounds to excel scholastically and to make positive contributions to our society. This is just a painful reminder of the extreme divisiveness that characterizes the current political climate at the national level."
Leonard was elected in 2016 and is seeking re-election this year.
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