According to The Texas Tribune, the Republican chairs of four counties in Texas have posted on Facebook some conspiracy theories about the death of George Floyd. This led the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott and other Republicans in the state to ask the GOP representatives to resign.
George Floyd's death a stunt?
The Republican chairs represent downtown and suburban San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and other parts of east Texas.
Cynthia Brehm, a Republican Chairwoman from Bexar County, shared on Facebook a conspiracy theory that Floyd's death was a staged event, according to The Texas Tribune. However, according to all evidence, Floyd's murder was not staged.
Brehm wrote that she thinks that there is a possibility that the filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop was done on purpose to create racial tensions. Brehm's post has since been deleted. Jim Kaelin, the GOP Chairman of Nueces County, shared the same conspiracy theory on his own Facebook page.
Lee Lester, a GOP Chairman from Harrison County, also shared the same conspiracy theory on his Facebook group on May 31.
The controversial post ends with saying that you can draw your own conclusions, but the incident has all the earmarks of George Soros. The post is asking people to "open their eyes."
Lester told KLTV that he just shared the post because it is food for thought. He claimed he did not have any idea what really happened to George Floyd.
John Wittman, a spokesman for Gov. Abbott, said that the governor wants Kaelin and Brehm to resign. Wittman said in a statement that the comments of the Republican chairs are disgusting and that it has no place in the Republican Party or in public discourse.
Wittman added that spreading conspiracy theories that the murder of Floyd was staged defies reality and that it is irresponsible and unbecoming of anyone who was a position in the GOP.
Dan Patrick, a lieutenant governor from Texas, posted on Twitter and demanded that Brehm must resign immediately.
Partick stated that there is no excuse for the racist, ignorant, and outrageous message and that it was made worse because of Brehm's position as a leader of the Republican Party. He said that the message posted by Brehm does not reflect the thinking of the GOP and Bexar County.
According to Spectrum News, Breham does not have plans to resign, despite the demands of numerous GOP leaders. The chair of the Comal County Republican Party, Gafford Piner, posted another controversial image on May 31.
The image is that of the infamous billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, and the image includes a text that reads "I pay white cops to murder black people. And then I pay black people to riot because race wars keep the sheep in line." The controversial image was deleted on June 5.
Racist images
Keith Nielsen, the GOP chairman-elect in Harris County, posted on Facebook earlier this week an image of a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that reads "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and it featured a banana.
According to The Texas Tribune, Nielsen deleted the post and addressed the controversy on his Facebook page on June 4 by saying that it was unfortunate that the sentiment of the quote and his admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was overshadowed by misinterpretation of an image.
