Republican official resigns after Facebook post links Minnesota masks mandate to Nazi Germany

The image was posted after Governor Tim Walz’s coronavirus order came into effect on Saturday

(Twitter / Jewish Community Action)

An unnamed Republican Party official resigned after comparing Jewish people being forced to wear the Star of David in Nazi Germany with wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, a black and white photo showed a Nazi officer and man wearing the six-pointed star with the caption, “Just put on the star and quit complaining, it’s not that hard” followed by “Just put on the mask and stop complaining”.

The image was posted to the Wabasha County Republican Party’s Facebook page after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz‘s mask mandate order went into effect on Saturday.

After initially claiming the Facebook account had been hacked, Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said the “offensive picture” had been posted by a Wabasha County GOP board member who has since been asked to resign.

“Upon further investigation, the @mngop learned the Wabasha County FB page was not hacked last night, as believed by the Wabasha Chair,” Ms Carnahan said in a statement.

“We are saddened by the vitriolic post and hope as we move forward that Republicans and Democrats alike will maintain the highest level of integrity, respect, and sensitivity. The Wabasha County Board and MN GOP apologizes for this disappointing post.”

While both the image and the Facebook page of Wabasha County GOP have been deleted, the Jewish Community Action Group saved and posted a screenshot of the attempted meme.

“Given that Minnesota rabbis recently spoke out in favour of a mask mandate, comparing that mandate to the Holocaust feels especially disgusting,” they said.

“We ask the @MNGOP to tell Wabasha Republicans to stop using imagery like this. It betrays a total lack of both empathy and education.”

The person who uploaded the image, and was subsequently asked to resign, has not been publicly identified by the GOP.