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Duval School Board Meeting Erupts Over Anti-Muslim Post; Public Comment Halted
A Duval County School Board meeting was briefly shut down Monday night after a speaker's anti-Muslim remarks drew cries of hate speech, as residents demanded accountability for District 1 member Tony Ricardo's reshare of a post calling Islam 'not a religion.'
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. â A Duval County School Board meeting descended into chaos Monday night, forcing board Chair Charlotte Joyce to halt public comment and clear the room for roughly 10 minutes after a speaker made anti-Muslim remarks that attendees condemned as hate speech.
The disruption came as a packed crowd gathered to address District 1 board member Tony Ricardo's recent reshare of a Facebook post that described Islam as "not a religion" and a "political cult masquerading as a faith." The post, which Ricardo has since deleted from his personal page, appears to have originated with a group called Americans Against Islamification. A screenshot of the reshare continues to circulate online.
Just before 8:15 p.m., a man identifying himself as Jake Lang and describing himself as a crusader made comments about the Muslim community that drew immediate backlash. Attendees called the remarks hate speech and demanded he be removed. Joyce, who had said earlier in the evening that she arranged for extra law enforcement to escort disorderly attendees out, stopped the meeting and moved everyone outside. After the break, commenters were brought back in one at a time.
Speakers were divided on how the board should respond to Ricardo's post.
Jack Nocki, who said he attended to support Ricardo, argued that the board member retains his constitutional rights. "Sitting on a school board doesn't mean we lose that right," Nocki said. "There should be no discussion on any removal."
Ranna Abduljawad, a Muslim American and Duval County Public Schools parent, said accountability is essential for any real lesson to be learned.
"There's absolutely a teaching moment," Abduljawad said. "It can't be done unless the board really holds him accountable and push for him to publicly apologize or for his resignation. Because what is a teaching moment if there's no accountability? If there's no accountability, this can amplify, and it can be a dominant effect where other educators or other elected officials that have a certain feeling and a vision in their mind that they can now feel more empowered to state it publicly â this can be a chaos in our city."
The controversy follows earlier calls for Ricardo's resignation over the social media post, including a response from the mayor's office. Monday's meeting made clear that the dispute over his future â and over the boundaries of public comment in a school district serving tens of thousands of students â is far from settled.