(LOS ANGELES, CA – 5/6/2019) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today condemned the racist and bigoted statements of John Dave Denilofs, a candidate for Riverside City Council Ward 7.
According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Denilofs has made statements on Facebook and YouTube calling for the execution of Muslims, people who wave a Mexican flag in the U.S. and “the people who made laws where it’s safe for Muslims.”
Denilofs has also made statements referring to “black people on the street” by the N-word and has called for President Donald Trump to martial law and kill 6 million people, in a reference to the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Denilofs told the Press-Enterprise he did not believe what he said but was attempting to drive traffic to his social media pages.
READ: Riverside City Council candidate acknowledges racist comments — but says he didn’t mean them
SEE: What is going on in Riverside County?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t48WBPa8NY
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“While it is not surprising, it is unfortunate to see an equal-opportunity bigot running for public office. At a time when the current trend of normalizing hate speech has emboldened bigots in their speech, as well as in their actions, the last thing Riverside needs is a bigot setting the vision and goals of the city from the City Council dais. I hope the voters will send a clear message that bigotry and intolerance have no place in Ward 7.”
CAIR California (CAIR-CA) found that there was a marked rise in anti-Muslim bias incidents in California in 2017, as detailed in the new CAIR-CA Civil Rights Report. CAIR-CA recorded an 8 percent increase in anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2017 compared to 2016.
READ: 2018 CAIR-CA Civil Rights Report
Ayloush urged community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights Department at 714-776-1177 or by filing a report at http://bit.ly/2Am5yjG.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Eugene W. Fields, 714-776-1847 or efields@cair.com