NJ Legislators Condemn Anti-Muslim Post Made By Branchburg Official

BRANCHBURG, NJ — Branchburg Township Committeewoman Anna Columbus is facing criticism from Democratic officials and candidates over a deleted Facebook post they said promoted anti-Muslim rhetoric ahead of the election.

Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis, Senator Andrew Zwicker, and Assemblyman Roy Freiman, all from District 16, stated they were "disappointed to see Branchburg Committeewoman Anna Columbus sharing clearly Islamophobic and discriminatory rhetoric in a since-deleted post implying that voting for Democrats in the upcoming election is to support a Muslim Speaker of the House supporting Sharia Law."

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The statement said elected officials should make constituents feel safe and valued "no matter the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the religion they follow."

This follows a statement from Jay Tilak, Democratic candidate for the Branchburg Township Committee, who said Columbus, a Republican Township Committee, shared a graphic on Facebook on Sunday, Oct. 25, stating that Muslims are using the Democratic Party to take over the country and impose "Sharia law."

According to Tilak, Columbus commented, "Vote RED." The release also said Columbus removed the post after it was up for more than 24 hours, though screenshots remain.

"This language and worldview should be condemned, not amplified, by our local leaders," the District 16 representatives said in their statement. "Our Muslim neighbors should not have to spend their days constantly disavowing the misdeeds of other Muslims while the same standard is not expected of other faiths."

Tilak also called for Columbus to resign.

"Muslim neighbors are not a threat to this town, to this state, or to this country. Believing that they are is the real threat," said Tilak. "When you hold public office what you share bears the weight of that office, and so I am calling on Anna Columbus to apologize to our Muslim neighbors and step down from the Township Committee."

This was not the first time Columbus had been criticized for Facebook comments.

In August 2020, a NJ.com article reported that after Tropical Storm Isaias, Columbus responded to a post about out-of-state utility workers restoring electricity in Branchburg by writing, "They came through the Mexican border."

Columbus refused calls to resign at that time and said she was "joking."

"This is no longer a simple mistake, but a pattern of bigotry that I personally find abhorrent and cannot believe is supported by the local town government," said Nathan Rudy, Branchburg's Democratic chair. "Either the Republican majority will condemn Columbus's racist post and call for her resignation at tonight's meeting or it will indicate they support this kind of attack on Branchburg's Muslim residents."

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ), the state's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, also joined community leaders in calling for the immediate resignation of Columbus.

"Elected officials are held to a standard of public trust, dignity, and inclusivity," said Naureen Akhter, Public Affairs Director at CAIR-NJ. "Sharing anti-Muslim bigotry normalizes hate and alienates members of our community. Public servants who engage in or amplify Islamophobic rhetoric forfeit their moral authority to lead. We're calling for Ms. Columbus's immediate resignation."

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