US congressman Andy Ogles stirs outrage with Gaza comment: ‘Kill them all’
Al Jazeera
Video of the United States representative has gone viral after he clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington.
Muslims, Democrats and social media users expressed their displeasure on Wednesday with remarks made by Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who responded to an activist’s question about the deaths of Palestinian children in Gaza by asserting that “we should kill ‘em all”.
In a statement released Wednesday, the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) “unequivocally” denounced Ogles and wrote that his remarks were tantamount to advocating for “the extermination of the Palestinian people”.
Noting an increase in anti-Muslim attacks across Tennessee since Israel began its indiscriminate bombing and blockade of Gaza in October, AMAC wrote:
“Such rhetoric is not only abhorrent but also antithetical to our values as a state. It is such rhetoric that has continued to foster a political climate where extremist ideologies flourish, empowering neo-Nazis to openly parade through our streets and allowing genocidal sentiments to go unchallenged. This cannot be tolerated any longer. As citizens of Tennessee, we deserve better representation from those elected to office.”
On the social media platform known as X, the opprobrium directed at Ogles was even worse, with one user writing Wednesday:
