Congressman's Anti-Muslim Post Triggers a Backlash

A congressman from Tennessee has become a big target of Democrats after an anti-Muslim post on social media, reports Axios. "Muslims don't belong in American society," wrote Republican Andy Ogles on Monday, per Politico. "Pluralism is a lie." The post came after two men in New York City were accused of an attempted terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, notes NBC News. Ogles' comment follows one from GOP Rep. Randy Fine last month, who wrote that choosing between "dogs and Muslims" was "not a difficult" decision.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he has spoken with both representatives about "our tone and our message" but didn't explicitly criticize them, reports Politico. "Look, there's a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment, that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem," Johnson said, referring to religious rules in Islam. (Ogles had a sarcastic take on "what Islam offers" with a posted graphic.)

Though Johnson didn't criticize, Democrats pounced. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Ogles a "malignant clown," House Minority Whip Katherine Clark asserted that he doesn't belong in Congress, and Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, whose district includes a large Muslim population, described the post "as un-American as it gets." Fellow Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska, a retiring centrist, said the post runs counter to the Constitution. An unapologetic Ogles leaned into the criticism with a followup post pointing to the New York City incident and another in Texas linked to a Muslim assailant.

The post revives controversy that surfaced last summer, when Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York introduced a resolution to censure Ogles over his calls to deport New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim. While Democrats currently see little momentum for a formal censure, party strategists have quietly tagged Ogles as a 2024 target, betting that his string of controversies and Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder's candidacy could put his normally safe Republican seat in play, per Axios.