JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Community members showed up Monday night in protest of Duval County School Board member Tony Ricardo. After one counter-protester’s comments, the meeting erupted in chaos, and leaders asked everyone to leave the chambers. The chaos came seconds after the speaker made tense comments about the Muslim faith.
People began yelling “hate speech” after the counter-protester made comments like, “Muslim cockroaches have invaded the holes of our liberty.” That and several other comments caused nearly a dozen people to leave, saying it was hate speech that should not be allowed.
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The man speaking is Edward “Jacob” Lang, a former Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack participant pardoned by President Donald Trump last year. He attended the meeting wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest.
This all comes after Ricardo faced calls to resign after it appears he shared a Facebook post that called Islam an invasive political cult. Action News Jax first told you about the controversial post last week. Action News Jax reached out to Ricardo to verify whether it is a post he shared, but he didn’t get back to the station.
The post received backlash online, among city and DCPS leaders and now in school board chambers. Parts of it read that Islam is not a religion, that the Quran is instructions for jihad, and that Islam is an invasive political cult masquerading as a faith.
Since then, several DCPS, City of Jacksonville and community leaders have called on him to resign. There have been statements from Ricardo’s fellow school board members, city leaders and even religious organizations, all rebuking his remarks and calling for accountability. But other groups stood behind Ricardo, saying the post doesn’t reflect his ability to govern fairly.
A group of Muslim moms organized and planned to show up at the school board meeting in response to Ricardo. The chair of Duval’s Republican Party, Charles Barr, said he won’t call on Ricardo to resign.
“When an elected school board member makes hateful statements about Islam, it raises serious questions about whether Muslim students can trust that leadership to represent their interests fairly sitting on the school board,” said Ranna Abduljawad, a community organizer.
Monday night, many spoke out against the language in the post and asked him to resign.
“Using social media to disparage people including Muslim students in your district is a disgrace,” one speaker said.
RAW VIDEO: Duval school board meeting erupts after Jan. 6 rioter in tactical vest rails against Islam, Quran
“You’ve just given permission to a bully in that school to say what he wants to say also and to bully these students, so I do not support you,” another speaker said.
Many others stood in support of him, citing his First Amendment rights.
“Islam that calls itself a peaceful religion is actually a political ideology disguised as religion,” one speaker said.
“We all have our First Amendment right from the U.S. Constitution. Just because we sit on a school board doesn’t mean we lost that right,” another speaker said.
Several people were escorted out of the meeting. Following the outbursts, DCPS leaders cleared the chambers for a recess and only allowed speakers back inside individually. The public has since been invited back inside.
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