A Facebook page for Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, known for fueling the “birther” movement against former President Barack Obama and for an anti-LBGTQ agenda, contained racist posts aimed at NFL players who protest during the national anthem.
Moore, 70, defeated Sen. Luther Strange in a primary run on Sept. 26. President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, supported his campaign, while Trump campaigned for Strange.
Roy Moore was also removed from the Alabama Supreme Court twice for his extreme views and also called Islam a “fake religion.”
In February, a meme was shared on Facebook featuring a group of Black men standing on a damaged police car during the 2015 Baltimore riots, according to a new CNN report.
The text read:
“Want to stop riots Play the National Anthem. They’ll all sit down.”
The post was shared by Moore’s wife, with the caption, “I doubt it with these people-but worth a try”
A post shared on Moore’s page in September of last year shows rows of military coffins draped in the American flag. Under the image, the text read, “would the suppressed millionaire, NFL quarterback who would not stand for the National Anthem please point out which of these guys are Black so we can remove the offensive flag.”
The Facebook page containing the posts is not Moore’s current campaign page but one he created for an unsuccessful run for Alabama governor in 2010 and kept active.
Although Trump did not campaign for Moore, they share the same sentiments regarding NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality against the Black community, a move initiated by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.
At a rally on Sept. 22 in Alabama,Trump said:
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now.’ Out! He’s fired.”
According to CNN, Moore’s Facebook page shared an article in July 2015 that praised Russia’s anti-gay laws; a video in November 2015 that said then President Obama is Muslim; and, twice in 2016, a photo of African migrants climbing a border fence into Spain, making a parallel with America’s border with Mexico.
Moore is an outspoken evangelical Christian who said he believesGod placed President Trumpin the position of president.
In addition to Bannon’s advocacy, the senate nominee was also endorsed by former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Carson said Moore reflects “Judeo-Christian values.”
Moore posted on his current senate campaign Facebook page an adfeaturing a quote from Carson.
“Judge Roy Moore is a fine man of proven character and integrity, who I have come to respect over the years,” Carson said. “He is truly someone who reflects the Judeo-Christian values that were so important to the establishment of our country. It is these values that we must return to in order to make America great again.”
Moore will face Democrat Doug Jones on Dec. 12 in a special election.Alabama is ranked 45/50 in per capita GDP.
In regard to the Facebook posts, Brett Doster, Moore’s campaign spokesman, told CNN that the senate nominee “believes in the sanctity of marriage and in protecting our religious liberty. He also believes the flag should be honored in respect for the American men and women of all colors and races who have died defending it.”
“Col. Kriste Etue’s actions demonstrated that she is unaware or unmoved by the sense of outrage, vulnerability and fear among minorities toward the criminal justice system,” Rep. Brenda Lawrence said.
Last week, Director of Michigan State Police (MSP) Col. Kriste Etue shared a meme on Facebook calling NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem “anti-American degenerates.”
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Etue to her post in January 2011. Snyder said he would not fire her or ask her to resign from her post at the helm of the MSP, which provides law enforcement and public safety services throughout Michigan.
