Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took aim at Rep. Randy Fine’s social media post, which critics accused of promoting anti-Muslim hate speech.
AOC said the post by the Republican from Florida was “one of the most disgusting statements” she had ever seen from an American politician and urged House leaders to discipline the congressman.
“This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official,” AOC wrote on X. “It should not stop shocking us that the Republican Party openly embraces this. Fine should be censured & stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize it.”
Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican from Florida, made the post on X: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
The post by Rep. Randy Fine faced criticism from Muslim advocacy groups and politicians. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Rep. Randy Fine to resign, calling his comments Islamophobic and dangerous.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, said Rep. Randy Fine’s comments were wrong and said the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of all Americans, but hate speech against religious groups undermines this and causes division.
Rep. Randy Fine responded to criticism from fellow politicians and Muslim groups by posting screenshots of a message from Nerdeen Kiswani, who identified herself as the leader of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, which has endorsed a candidate for the New York Assembly, Zohran Mamdani.
“Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean,” the tweet read.
Rep. Randy Fine said the message from Kiswani was the context for his comments on Muslims and dogs. The message from Kiswani was read by many people online and was interpreted as satirical, as Muslims traditionally believe dogs are impure.
