USA10 March, 20262 min read
Rep. Andy Ogles Declares 'Muslims Don't Belong in American Society' and Urges Muslim Ban
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Posted declaring Muslims do not belong in American society, calling pluralism 'a lie'. Urged banning Muslim immigrants and advocated deporting Muslim U.S. citizens.
Ogles anti-Muslim posts
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted a series of explicit anti-Muslim remarks on social media.
“Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted a series of anti-Muslim remarks on social media this week, saying ‘Muslims don’t belong in American society,’ calling pluralism ‘a lie,’ urging that Muslim immigrants ‘must be banned,’ and suggesting the Department of Justice should deport New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani—a naturalized U.S. citizen—after a nearby protest where two men were later charged in an alleged ISIS-support plot.”
He wrote "Muslims don’t belong in American society" and declared "pluralism is a lie."
Several accounts report he urged that Muslim immigrants "must be banned" and even suggested the Department of Justice should deport New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The statements were posted around March 9 and have drawn wide attention for their absolute language and direct targeting of a religious group.
Protest outside Mamdani's home
An anti-Islam protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home was organized by pardoned Jan. 6 participant Jake Lang, according to sources, and it turned violent.
Police detained two men at the scene.
Investigators probed whether explosive materials were brought to the scene and whether suspects were influenced by extremist groups.
Mamdani, who is Muslim and became a U.S. citizen in 2018, condemned the protest and the violence.
Several reports tie Ogles’s social-posting to that incident and its aftermath.
Responses to Ogles’s remarks
Ogles’s comments prompted swift condemnation from Democrats, civil-rights groups and others.
“Democrats, including House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Robin Kelly, condemned Ogles and urged censure, while Speaker Mike Johnson’s office and Ogles’ office did not respond to requests for comment.”
Democrats named in coverage who criticized the remarks include House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Robin Kelly, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations described Ogles as an 'anti-Muslim extremist.'
Some Democrats urged formal censure, and outlets noted that Speaker Mike Johnson’s office and Ogles’ office did not respond to requests for comment in at least one report.
Ogles's rhetoric and context
Reporting situates Ogles’s remarks within a broader pattern. He said he will introduce a bill to halt entry from several predominantly Muslim countries. He denounced burqas and hijabs as un-American.
He is identified as part of a growing faction of House Republicans making Islamophobic statements. Coverage links his rhetoric to similar comments by other Republican figures. Coverage notes the local context that his district includes Nashville, home to an estimated 40,000 Muslims and the city’s Little Kurdistan neighborhood.
