The now-deleted meme posted to Facebook showed Rep. Ellison in hunting gear with a gun resting on his shoulder and holding a slain turkey. The caption affixed to the image read, "Collin Peterson [another Democratic Minnesota congressman] has been sliding (sic) up to Minnesota’s Head Muslim Goat Humper, Keith Ellison. Heck, they’re not Hunting Buddies. Does that mean Muslim Refugees coming to Western Minnesota?"
Originating from the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party Facebook group, the post called Ellison a "raving, Louis Farrakhan supporting, anti-Semite, anti-white, racist and fascist American."
A statement from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party strongly denounced the post, saying, "The ignorance and bigotry displayed in this post is staggering and disheartening. Americans across the country have witnessed a disturbing increase in this type of threatening behavior and fear mongering since the election of Donald Trump, and now it seems the Minnesota Republican Party is embracing it all too much."
It called the image "disgusting, racist and hateful," and said Ellison is "a champion of inclusiveness in our state and across the country, and works tirelessly every day to make Minnesota a welcoming place for all, regardless of ethnicity or religion."
Last week, when Jennifer Carnahan was elected Chairwoman of the Minnesota GOP, she made note of her gender and South Korean heritage as evidence of Republican progressivism, saying people are "going to have a really hard time calling us the party of racists and sexists."
After calling for the staffer responsible for the post to remove themselves, she later wrote on Twitter that "this person no longer represents our party."
She also tweeted, "The hate speech from the 7th CD GOP does not reflect our party or the 7th CD. As chair, I will not tolerate this activity in our party," and formally apologized to Ellison in the Star Tribune.
Not everyone was convinced, however, with one person responding to Carnahan: "Lady, this is an absolute representation of your party."
