A Republican Minnesota County Official Resigns After Posting Picture That Compared Mask Mandate to Nazi Germany

I feel like anytime a Republican is faced with a mild inconvenience, their first instinct is to compare it to Nazi Germany. An unhinged president with increasingly authoritarian tendencies is fine, but wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of a deadly virus? Well, that’s where one county official in Minnesota drew the line.

CNN reports that an official for the Republican Party in Wabasha County has resigned after posting a picture on the group’s Facebook page that compared the mask mandate to Jews being forced to wear the Star of David in Nazi Germany.

*deep, heavy sigh* Every day, we drift further and further from God’s light.

At first, Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan released a statement on Tuesday alleging that the organization’s Facebook page had been hacked only to retract that statement later the same day. “The Republican Party of Minnesota has learned the Wabasha County Facebook page was not hacked last night, as believed by the Wabasha County Chair. The offensive picture was unfortunately posted by a board member who has resigned effective immediately at the party’s request,” Carnahan said in a statement on Tuesday.

The post has been removed and Carnahan has apologized for the post, which she called “vitriolic.” Jewish Community Action, an activist group based in Minnesota, posted a screenshot of the post in a tweet condemning it. The post featured a black and white image of a man wearing the Star of David alongside a Nazi officer with the captions “Just put on the star and quit complaining, it’s not that hard” at the top and, “Just put on the mask and stop complaining” at the bottom.

Carnahan tweeted a response to the organization on Monday. “This post was brought to @mngop’s attention today. Immediately we reached out to the Wabasha board. They believe this was a hack and are removing their FB page immediately,” Carnahan wrote. “Our party does not support/condone divisive and harmful posts or language of this nature.”

Which, considering who they’re backing for president, isn’t entirely accurate.

Over the weekend, Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed an order requiring citizens to wear a mask at all indoor businesses. The official who made the post has yet to be named, though they can be added to the growing list of people who have lost their job for being outright foul on the internet.