Virginia Republicans Remove Party Official Who Said Only Christians Should Run for Office

During the 2106 presidential campaign Fredy Burgos made anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant comments on social media

Mar 28, 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump reads from a prepared statement as he delivers remarks on the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, from his golf estate in Bedminster, New Jersey U.S., August 12, 2017Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

JTA

Mar 28, 2018

Virginia Republicans have ousted a party leader who said only Christians should run for party positions.

Fredy Burgos was voted off the State Central Committee on Monday, The Hill reported. He had been elected to the post.

Top Republicans in the state had called for his removal, noting his history of making controversial comments.

“Having a preference for Christians over non-Christians as political leaders is not bigoted,” Burgos said last month in a Facebook post promoting his favored candidate, Tim Hannigan, for the chairmanship of the Fairfax County Republican Committee against a Jewish rival, Mike Ginsberg. “It is a preference and a duty we are allowed.”

Burgos, a Trump supporter who campaigned for Hannigan under a “Make Fairfax Great Again” motto, removed the post after it was attacked on the conservative Virginia blog Bearing Drift. He claimed his comments were taken out of context, the Washington Post reported, and subsequently posted about his “affection” for Jews.

During the presidential campaign, Burgos made anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant comments on social media. He removed them following requests by party officials.