Early Monday morning, Bluestem posted Anti-Muslims flip over what democracy looks like at eight caucus trainings at Twin Cities mosques.
Today, J. Patrick Coolican had more in GOP Rep. Cindy Pugh, local GOP official warn of Muslims "infiltrating" precinct caucuses:
A local Republican Party official alleged on Facebook this week a plot to "mobilize Muslims to infiltrate our Republican caucuses on Feb. 6" -- drawing a swift rebuke from fellow Republicans.
Dave Sina, the chair of the Fourth Congressional District GOP, posted to Facebook a lengthy report claiming that "a friend" went to a caucus training held at a local mosque, where he witnessed Muslim-Americans being taught to "penetrate" and "infiltrate" American politics to enact a Muslim political agenda.
Jennifer Carnahan, chair of the Minnesota GOP, said Muslim-Americans are welcome to caucus with the Republicans. "There is no religious test to participate in the Republican caucus. We welcome those who are in agreement with the values of the Republican Party, those who voted Republican in the last election or plan to vote with the party in November."
Both parties and civic and religious groups hold training sessions in advance of the Feb. 6 precinct caucuses because they can be confusing to people unfamiliar with the process, despite being the bedrock of a Minnesota election year. Party activists will gather to choose local leadership at the caucuses, beginning the long process of choosing delegates to the parties' state conventions in June. Participants also have the opportunity to raise issues to appear as party platform planks. . . .
The Rev. JaNaé Bates, spokeswoman for ISAIAH, a progressive interfaith group that has conducted caucus trainings, including at mosques, condemned the language used by Sina and others: "This work of encouraging civic participation has provoked some politicians and people to launch a divisive and hateful attack on Muslim people's right and responsibility to engage fully and powerfully in our civic life," she said. "As people of faith, we repudiate and reject any attempt to bully or threaten people to keep people of faith silent."
Photo: We've received another screengrab of the Cindy Pugh cut and paste sharing of the original post. According to our source, that the timestamp on the mobile image indicates that the post remains on Pugh's Facebook page as we write.
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