Kent County Republican Central Committee Facebook page draws claims of racism

Some Marylanders are raising concerns that the Kent County Republican Central Committee’s Facebook page contains overtly racist content, stemming from a series of posts aimed at Congressman Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American Muslim woman serving Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Omar, a Democrat, was elected to Congress in November 2018 and is one of the first of two Muslim women elected to the United States House of Representatives.

The freshman congresswoman has been the subject of several Facebook posts uploaded to the Kent County Republican Central Committee page – and she has drawn ire from several commentators.

“Her rag is wrapped a bit tight,” Homer Peters wrote under a post that was critical of Omar.

Another commentator referred to Omar as a “radical Muslim who worships the same God as a terrorist” and questions why “she and other Muslims are in our government.”

Another Facebook commentator, Corine Wadkins, wrote that the congresswoman “needs to burned (sic) at the stake.”

Below is a collection of postings written by various individuals who commented on the central committee’s Facebook page.

 

The Kent County Republican Central Committee is currently chaired by Tatiana Croissette and vice-chaired by Shawn Poulson.

When reached on Saturday by Facebook Messanger via the Kent County Republican Central Committee Facebook page, Croissette told A Miner Detail that the “posts are public” and that “any of the 5000+ followers or the public internet can comment.”

Croissette quickly cut the discussion short when asked to comment on some of the apparent racism from page commentators.

“Excuse me, I didn’t realize you were the Facebook moral police. Racist? Whatever…I don’t believe I want to talk to you,” Croissette wrote in response.

But Croissette continued her defense of the page, telling A Miner Detail “people speak their mind, often unfiltered. For many, there’s good reason to believe those things. Or maybe it’s wishful thinking.”

Croissette did not respond directly when questioned if any of the current members of Kent County’s Republican Central Committee have similar beliefs to those expressed on various threads critical of Rep. Omar.

“I won’t comment on the beliefs of other people,” Croissette said.

When asked to respond to a commentator who called Omar a “cabbage head,” Croissette quickly ended the back-and-forth dialogue with A Miner Detail.

“Our interview is over,” she concluded.

One state Republican lawmaker who asked to speak on background when contacted for comment by A Miner Detail said the Maryland Republican Party is aware of committee’s Facebook page but is unable to do anything about it, stating further that another Republican club exists in Kent County that is recognized as legitimate, whereas the Republican Central Committee is not.

The same Marylander lawmaker remarked that the Kent County Republican Central Committee is also harshly critical of Gov. Larry Hogan as well as other Republicans who may not be in lockstep with President Donald Trump.