A Michigan state lawmaker was stripped of his committee assignments and office staff budget on Monday after he shared posts about the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory on social media.
Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate (D) announced the punishment for Rep. Josh Schriver (R) on Monday, saying he would not allow the House “to be a forum for the proliferation of racist, hateful and bigoted speech.”
“Rep. 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 in a statement Monday.
“The House of Representatives is the people’s house, and all Michiganders should look upon this body and take pride in how we conduct ourselves,” he continued. “It is also a workplace, and I have a responsibility to make sure the employees of the House feel safe and secure.”
State house committee assignments and staff budgets are at the complete discretion of the Speaker, according to state law.
Last Tuesday, Schriver reposted a graphic depicting black figurines covering most of a map of the world, with white figures occupying smaller sections of Australia, Canada, northern Europe and the northern United States. Its caption read “The great replacement!”
The image was first posted by right-wing pundit Jack Posobiec on X, formerly Twitter.
The “great replacement” white supremacist conspiracy is the idea that world governments are conspiring to lessen the white population and replace them with other races of people. The conspiracy has also been linked to antisemitism.
Schriver was immediately met with mass criticism for the post, but later doubled down while denying being racist.
“I’m opposed to racists, race baiters, and victim politics,” he said in a statement last week. “What I find strange is the agenda to demoralize and reduce the white portion of our population. That’s not inclusive and Christ is inclusive! I’m glad Tucker Carlson and Jack Posobiec are sharing links so I can continue my research on these issues.”
Schriver has since refused to apologize for the post and denied being racist in a series of X posts.
“I’m a White rapper and most conservative voting Representative in Michigan,” he wrote on X Monday. “I guess it was only a matter of time before I was falsely labeled a ‘raaacist!’”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) denounced Schriver’s post on Friday.
“It is a failure of leadership for this kind of action to take place unchecked by the leaders of Rep. Schriver’s caucus, and the longer there is no action taken, the more responsibility leadership bears,” she said.
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