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REVERE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Two Muslim groups are demanding a full investigation into a Revere city councilor's online conduct.
Jetpac and the Council of American Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MA, said Revere City Councilor George Rotondo Jr. has been posting "Islamophobic and anti-immigrant propaganda" on his social media channels.
"These are [posts] in which he is sharing material from entities that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as anti-Muslim hate groups," CAIR-MA Executive Director John Robbins told WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville.
The groups want the city to investigate whether or not Rotondo made the posts on the city's dime—"during times when he was being compensated for his labor by the city and its taxpayers, who include Muslim firefighters, Muslim physicians, Muslim attorneys, Muslim police officers and teachers," Robbins said.
The posts, which Jetpac screenshotted and are shown in the gallery above, include YouTube videos that claim Portland, Maine is "overrun with African migrants," a cartoon showing a Muslim man pulling puppet strings of a local political figure, and more.
"We’ve seen throughout history that hateful rhetoric inspires violence, and it’s very concerning to see an increasing number of Massachusetts public officials spreading hate propaganda that exclusively exists to incite fear and hatred against Muslims," Jetpac Executive Director Mohammed Missouri said in a statement. "Councilor Rotondo has the right to say what he wants on his own time, but Revere residents also have a right to know if he’s using any public resources as a city councilor to promote hatred of Muslims."
Robbins said the groups mainly want Rotondo to be held accountable.
"We certainly hope that an element of shame still exists," he said. "We hope that any person who is doing this would question themselves not about when they did it or where, but the fact that, did you do these kind of posts? Do you believe these kinds of sentiments? Do you share this kind of animus against truly a large segment of your community?"
The Mayor's office says it hasn't gotten a formal request to investigate. One person who works at Revere City Hall said Rotondo seems like the last person who would post anti-Islamic propaganda.
Rotondo himself had no comment.
WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville (@wbzSausville) reports
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