Lawmaker Hit for Backing Racist Conspiracy Theory

Michigan State Rep. Josh Schriver, who tweeted about great replacement theory, loses staff
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 13, 2024 10:45 AM CST
Lawmaker Hit for Backing Racist Conspiracy Theory
Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, awaits the start of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich.   (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

A Republican state lawmaker in Michigan lost his committee assignment and staff Monday, days after posting an image of a racist ideology on social media, per the AP. House Speaker Joe Tate, a Democrat who's Black, said he won't allow the House to be a forum for "racist, hateful, and bigoted speech." State Rep. Josh Schriver, who's white, shared a post on X that showed a map of the world with Black figures greatly outnumbering white figures, along with the phrase "The great replacement!" The conspiracy theory says there's a plot to diminish the influence of white people.

Schriver, who represents portions of Oakland and Macomb counties, can vote on the House floor. But Tate removed him from a committee and told the House Business Office to oversee his staff members, who still can assist constituents. "Representative Schriver has a history of promoting debunked theories and dangerous rhetoric that jeopardizes the safety of Michigan residents and contributes to a hostile and uncomfortable environment for others," Tate said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, released a statement Friday calling Schriver's post "abhorrent rhetoric." "We will never let those who stoke racial fears divide us," she said.

Schriver defended his social media post last week. "I'm opposed to racists, race baiters, and victim politics," Schriver, elected to a two-year term in 2022, told the Detroit News. "What I find strange is the agenda to demoralize and reduce the white portion of our population." Writing Monday on X, Schriver said, "I'm not (and never have been) a racist. So I cannot offer a fake political apology for views I don't hold." He also claimed Whitmer was calling "for our lovely Michigan residents to be swiftly replaced by foreign nationals." (More great replacement theory stories.)

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