Washington, DC — On Wednesday, News4 Nashville reported that Jennifer Milele—a commissioner for the city of Mount Juliet, TN—shared anti-Black and anti-Muslim content on Twitter, writing that a “good Muslim” cannot be “a good American” or “a good American soldier” and retweeting a tweet that said “black culture promotes abortion, drugs, and black-on-black murder.” In response, Milele doubled down by saying “I stand by all the tweets.” The following is a statement from Eric Naing, Muslim Advocates’ senior communications manager:

“Commissioner Milele unapologetically shared some of the most offensive and most harmful stereotypes of Muslims and Black people. There is no excuse for any public official in the year 2021 to spread this kind of ugly, ignorant hatred.

By remorselessly promoting these anti-Muslim and anti-Black tropes, Milele is clearly signaling that she cannot be trusted to ensure all of Mount Juliet’s residents are equally and safely treated, regardless of their background. Milele’s unapologetic response shows that she either does not understand the seriousness of spreading hate against her constituents and neighbors, or that she does not care.

We applaud Vice Mayor Ray Justice and the Mount Juliet city commissioners for their leadership in passing a resolution to condemn Ms. Milele’s Twitter posts. Mr. Justice rightly called her comments what they were: ‘racist and bigoted in nature.’ And the resolution sends an important message to the residents of Mount Juliet that hate and bigotry have no place in their community.

We call on Ms. Milele to genuinely apologize for sharing these false, bigoted posts that encourage hate and possibly even violence against American Muslims and Black people. If she fails to do this, she must be removed from office.”

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Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.