Michigan official asks people to “kill every last Muslim” on Facebook — and won’t apologize for it

A Michigan politician is facing backlash for refusing to apologize for a Facebook post that urged people to “kill every last Muslim,” the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported.

Jeff Sieting, village president of Kalkaska, a small Michigan town about 230 miles northwest of Detroit, posted a lengthy anti-Muslim Facebook status in November. The post said Islam was a “death cult,” and called on non-Muslims to “kill every last Muslim, burn every last copy of their satanic book, burn every last mosque to the ground [and] burn every last dwelling they have occupied.”

The post also said the only “answer” to terrorism is to nuke the two holiest Islamic cities — Mecca and Medina — and 10 of the largest Muslim-majority cities.

The post was found by Kalkaska native Cindy Anderson. Anderson and other constituents asked Sieting to apologize, but he refused, and now, his constituents are looking to remove him from office.

“You ran for office to represent all of the people of this community, not just the white, non-Muslim ones,” Anderson said to Sieting, the Record-Eagle reported. “You were supposed to represent all of your constituents.”

Sieting said he is protected under the First Amendment, the Record-Eagle reported. Sieting also said people who are calling for his resignation are doing so because they oppose President Donald Trump.

“I don’t expect everyone to see things the way I do,” he said, the Record-Eagle reported.

Anderson and other Kalkaska residents created a Facebook group called “Kalkaska Residents for Peace” with the aim of finding a strategy to remove Sieting from office. The Facebook group, according to Anderson, has about 150 members. Right now, the members are looking into a potential recall election and also have started a search for someone to campaign against him in the 2018 election, the Record-Eagle reported.

But there’s at least one resident Sieting can count on for support. Joyce Golden, a citizen of the Kalkaska area, said the village president has every right to post whatever he wants on his personal Facebook account.

“If you don’t want to read it, get off of (his Facebook page),” she said, according to the Record-Eagle, before addressing Sieting. “From what I do know, you are a very honest, faithful, hardworking man and I thank you for that. I hope you continue and stand your ground for your beliefs. I don’t believe he has to represent everybody.”

Sieting did not respond to Mic’s request for comment.