A political appointee in the Department of Homeland Security has resigned after the disclosure that he had said black people have “turned America’s major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity” in a past appearance on conservative talk radio.
Rev. Jamie Johnson, the head of the DHS’s Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, made the remark about ten years ago. He was appointed in April by John Kelly, then the head of the department.
His resignation came swiftly after CNN published the comments on Thursday afternoon, along with the audio of the shows it unearthed.
“His comments made prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security clearly do not reflect the values of DHS and the administration,” Tyler Q. Houlton, the acting press secretary of the DHS, said in a statement announcing the resignation.
The department had previously distanced itself from the Johnson’s statements, saying that it did not support them but that “Rev. Johnson has proven himself as a valuable supporter and proponent of the interfaith community’s recovery efforts.”
[John Kelly calls Robert E. Lee an ‘honorable man’ and says ‘lack of compromise’ caused the Civil War]
The incendiary comments about blacks came in 2008 on the show “The Right Balance,” on Accent Radio Network, CNN reported. An unidentified speaker on the show said that “a lot of blacks are anti-Semitic” and asked Johnson why.
Johnson extolled the economic successes of American Jews and said “it’s an indictment of America’s black community that has turned America’s major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity,” according to a recording posted by CNN.
As a guest host on the AM radio program “Mickelson in the Morning,” in Iowa, Johnson also spoke harshly of Muslims, saying radical Islam was “faithful Islam.”
“I never call it radical Islam, if anything, it is obedient Islam. It is faithful Islam.” Johnson said, according to audio posted by CNN.
He later said he agreed with the conservative author Dinesh D’Souza that “all that Islam has ever given us is oil and dead bodies over the last millennia and a half.”
In a statement given to CNN before his resignation, Johnson said he regretted the remarks and said they do not represent his personal or professional viewpoint.
“I have and will continue to work with leaders and members of all faiths as we jointly look to strengthen our safety and security as an interfaith community,” Johnson said. “Having witnessed leaders from the entire faith spectrum work to empower their communities I now see things much different.
Rev. Jamie Johnson, the head of the DHS’s Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, made the remark about ten years ago. He was appointed in April by John Kelly, then the head of the department.
His resignation came swiftly after CNN published the comments on Thursday afternoon, along with the audio of the shows it unearthed.
“His comments made prior to joining the Department of Homeland Security clearly do not reflect the values of DHS and the administration,” Tyler Q. Houlton, the acting press secretary of the DHS, said in a statement announcing the resignation.
The department had previously distanced itself from the Johnson’s statements, saying that it did not support them but that “Rev. Johnson has proven himself as a valuable supporter and proponent of the interfaith community’s recovery efforts.”
[John Kelly calls Robert E. Lee an ‘honorable man’ and says ‘lack of compromise’ caused the Civil War]
The incendiary comments about blacks came in 2008 on the show “The Right Balance,” on Accent Radio Network, CNN reported. An unidentified speaker on the show said that “a lot of blacks are anti-Semitic” and asked Johnson why.
Johnson extolled the economic successes of American Jews and said “it’s an indictment of America’s black community that has turned America’s major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity,” according to a recording posted by CNN.
As a guest host on the AM radio program “Mickelson in the Morning,” in Iowa, Johnson also spoke harshly of Muslims, saying radical Islam was “faithful Islam.”
“I never call it radical Islam, if anything, it is obedient Islam. It is faithful Islam.” Johnson said, according to audio posted by CNN.
He later said he agreed with the conservative author Dinesh D’Souza that “all that Islam has ever given us is oil and dead bodies over the last millennia and a half.”
In a statement given to CNN before his resignation, Johnson said he regretted the remarks and said they do not represent his personal or professional viewpoint.
“I have and will continue to work with leaders and members of all faiths as we jointly look to strengthen our safety and security as an interfaith community,” Johnson said. “Having witnessed leaders from the entire faith spectrum work to empower their communities I now see things much different.
