The leader of a Luzerne County Republican splinter group denounced people who speak Spanish in a Facebook post Sunday during the Super Bowl.
Saying he was speaking from a local restaurant, T.J. Fitzgerald, president of NEPA Republicans, used an expletive to denounce Bad Bunny, the performer at Super Bowl halftime, but didn’t stop there.
“(Expletive) the Bunny. You know what? I walked outside and I'm freezing, and I don't give a (expletive). You want to know something? Because I love America and (expletive) every (expletive) buddy that speaks Spanish,” Fitzgerald said in the post.
In a brief telephone interview Monday, Fitzgerald sounded contrite and said he planned to issue a statement.
“I’ve got to think about what to say,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t use my words too good.”
Lee Ann McDermott, the chairperson of the official Luzerne County Republican Party denounced Fitzgerald’s rant in a Facebook post Monday afternoon.
McDermott said the party is aware of the video “by the head of a group that routinely attempts to present itself as the official Republican Party.”
The party, she said, stands “firmly against racism and this type of divisive rhetoric.”
“Let me be clear: this group is not affiliated with, recognized by, or authorized to speak on behalf of the Republican Party of Luzerne County,” McDermott wrote. “The individual who posted this video does not reflect our values, our mission or the conduct we expect from Republicans, who claim to represent our party. His repeated pattern of belligerent, reckless and self-sabotaging behavior has done nothing but undermine Republican candidates, volunteers and voters in Luzerne County.
“The Republican Party of Luzerne County remains focused on winning elections, promoting conservative values and conducting ourselves with professionalism and integrity ... Republicans deserve better, and we intend to deliver it.”
The post on the Republican Party of Luzerne County Facebook calls Fitzgerald’s post a “hateful video.”
The video wasn’t Fitzgerald’s only racially charged online video appearance of the weekend.
A day before the Super Bowl, in a YouTube video that NEPA Republicans posted Sunday on Facebook, Fitzgerald promoted support for Immigration and Customers Enforcement agents outside an ICE office in Forty Fort.
“Hey guys, just so you know, we are definitely behind ICE 100%,” Fitzgerald said. “We need to save our country from all the illegals coming here. We're backing Trump 110%. We need to save our culture. We got to stop all the crime, all the fraud. We got to stop the Muslims from coming over this country. We got to save Christianity and they're killing our people.”
