A New Jersey sheriff’s officer who is being investigated for a profanity-filled rant against Muslims insists he would protect “the good ones.”
Alex Pino of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office is in hot water after posting his rant on Facebook in response to a friend’s comment.
“(Expletive) THE KURAN (Expletive) THE MUSLIMS (Expletive) THE TERRORIST. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT. (Expletive) ON THE MOSQUES. TEAR THEM ALL DOWN. WE SCCOMMODATE (sic) TOO MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE HERE. FOLLOW OUR KAWS (sic) IN PLACE,” he wrote last month, according to NJ.com.
Pino removed the comments, but a friend posted the screen grab and others shared it. Pino was placed on administrative leave last week around Thanksgiving after the sheriff’s office became aware of the Facebook post.
“Comments like these are in no way reflective of my views or the views of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office and they run contrary to our mission of making Hudson County safer for everyone,” Sheriff Frank Schillari said in a statement on Monday. “We are taking this matter very seriously and we are conducting a full investigation.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to me for any member of this department to disparage any race, religion or ethnic group no matter the forum or the medium,” he continued. “As officers of the law we must be held to a higher standard and I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that all residents of Hudson County know that the Sheriff’s Office stands for professionalism and respect for our entire community above all else.”
Pino, who was placed on leave with pay and relinquished his service weapon, defended his Facebook post in an interview with NJ.com.
“We’re entitled to our opinions, and I had mine,” Pino said. “I’m tired of being bashed all the time. I’m in fear for my life … I have to protect my family, my children. I can’t take them to a movie theater because I’m afraid about what’s going to happen.”
He told the news website that he was remorseful and posted the comment “in the heat of the moment.” A disabled veteran who served in the Iraq war three times, Pino said he was “defending myself and the people in the line of duty and my fellow veterans who gave their lives.”
He emphasized that “of course I would protect (Muslims), you know, the good ones, not the extremists.”
“I was not directing that toward the good Muslims, I was directing that toward the terrorists … I’m completely against hurting people,” he continued. “It was taken the wrong way. I should have (explained myself) more in detail. All ‘Muslims’ is wrong. Now the good Muslims are taking severe offense to that. That was not my intention.”
History teacher Moe Elmaksoud, who went to the same high school as Pino, was apparently a target of the rant. The Muslim-American had angered Pino with a previous Facebook post.
Pino later apologized for calling Elmaksoud an idiot, according to NJ.com.
“I don’t want anything to happen to him. I forgive him,” Elmaksoud told the news website. “It’s a very, very tough situation.”
However, the owner of a nearby West New York pharmacy said Pino should express himself “behind closed doors.”
“If you work for the government or if you’re a public official or a professional, you shouldn’t broadcast your views,” Omar Miqbel told the news website. “People make jokes all the time but they mean no harm, but his post is definitely to offend all Muslims.”
