Farhana Khera: “Gorka’s racism was a symptom of a larger disease…Do not be fooled.”

Washington, DC – The following is reaction from Farhana Khera, Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, regarding Trump’s pardoning of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the resignation of Sebastian Gorka:

“Good riddance to Sebastian Gorka. Muslim Advocates has vocally advocated for his ouster from the very beginning, because, even in a White House crawling with white supremacists, Gorka stood out for his consistent and lifelong commitment to anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic causes.

Gorka’s racism was a symptom of a larger disease. That disease is a president who embraces racism and bigotry and revels in divisive rhetoric and actions, as we see in the pardon of unrepentant criminal Joe Arpaio, who advanced racist policies that terrorized people of color and immigrants for over two decades.

By pardoning one of the nation’s most notoriously racist sheriffs, Trump has continued to show contempt for America’s justice system.

With Arpaio pardoned, Bannon steering the Breitbart ship once again, and Gorka vowing to support Trump from outside the White House, the danger of the rise of white supremacism is more palpable than ever before. America needs to stay united and stand up to the hate and division that this administration has openly supported and fostered.

This is the same White House that defends neo-Nazis and white supremacists and is ideologically set against Muslims, Jews, immigrants, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.  Do not be fooled.”

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.

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