New Jersey School Board Member Says Death of Congresswoman Would ‘Complete’ His Life
A school board member in New Jersey took to Facebook to target two Democrat congresswoman, who are both Muslim, and said his life would be “complete” should one of them die, USA Today reported.
Daniel Leonard, who is one of nine school board members on the Toms River Regional school board in New Jersey, has been accused of making posts on his personal Facebook account targeting Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar, two progressive Democrats in their first term. Both women are Muslim.
One of two posts in question includes a photo of Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan attached to a Fox News article where Leonard writes about the way he would feel should the congresswoman die.
“My life would be complete if she/they die,” Leonard wrote, per USA Today.
According to local publication The Asbury Park Press, the board member will likely face an ethics investigation for the social media posts, which were made on his personal Facebook page.
School Board Attorney Stephan R. Leon said that Leonard’s posts “are totally inappropriate, not condoned by the Board of Education, and do not reflect the board’s attitude or opinions,” per The Asbury Park Press.
The 42-year-old school board member also shared a photo of Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to his Facebook page, claiming she was a terrorist.
“Terrorist…. 100 percent,” Leonard posted, per USA Today.
Leonard was first elected to his position on the school board in 2016 and is seeking re-election to his position in November, per The Asbury Park Press.
How is it possible that other elected school board members in Toms River, N.J., didn't notice that their colleague was wishing death on Muslims on his public Facebook page?
Now that @CAIRNJ called for his resignation, there'll be an ethics investigation. https://t.co/TYXxXaRXfF— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) July 24, 2019
The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a statement condemning Leonard’s Facebook posts and called for his 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,” James Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of CAIR, said in a statement.
In addition to targeting the two Muslim members of Congress, a third post on Leonard’s Facebook page depicts a photo of a bruised Barbie doll wearing a headscarf. Text attached to the image seemingly refers to the headscarf, known as a hijab, as a “Jihab” and says that the fictional Barbie doll comes with a Quran and bruises, according to The Asbury Park Press.
Leonard told USA Today that he had no comment on either statement from Sues or Leone, but allowed the publication to use the photos from his Facebook page.
The story comes days after a police officer was fired in Louisiana for a post on Facebook that implied that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot. Another officer was also fired for liking the Facebook post, per a previous report from The Inquisitr.
