The head of the Tarrant County Republican Party targeted a state House member with anti-Muslim remarks this week 鈥� only a month after Republicans called for his resignation over similar online behavior.
On X, Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French targeted Democratic state House Rep. Salman Bhojani, who represents parts of Arlington, Euless and Bedford.
In a series of posts over the last two days, French called Bhojani an 鈥渁nti-American democrat鈥�, said he was trying to 鈥渇urther jihad,鈥� and called on federal officials to denaturalize and deport the lawmaker, who is originally from Pakistan.
I am officially calling on to denaturalize and deport Pakistan born, anti-American democrat, quorum breaking, 's agenda hating, redistricting blocking . Thank you for your attention to this matter.
— Bo French (@BoFrenchTX)
Bhojani, who was among the first Muslim Americans elected to the Texas Legislature when he won a seat in 2022, said in a phone call with 四虎影院 Tuesday that these comments on his religion and ethnicity are not new to him. He said he received similar messages when he ran for Euless city council in 2018.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really unfortunate that people are targeting me for my faith and my ethnicity, for the country that I was born in, for their own political gain,鈥� Bhojani said.
French also published streets and cities in which Bhojani purportedly owns properties. The lawmaker said his family is receiving threats amid the online backlash.
鈥淭hey did not sign up to be targeted in this way,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have a thick skin, so I can understand that there are people from all walks of life that have different opinions.鈥�
四虎影院 reached out to French for comment. This story will be updated with any response.
French first called Bhojani out on X after the latter released announcing he was traveling to Pakistan for a family emergency.
French accused Bhojani of lying about his trip to Pakistan 鈥� which French referred to as 鈥渢he same place Osama Bin Laden hid鈥� 鈥� and alleged without evidence Bhojani was seen in Southlake. He also accused him of 鈥渓ying to further jihad.鈥�
of his passport stamps and plane tickets to Pakistan, with the dates matching his initial post. .
designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year.
. and the have shared with me his boarding pass and passport.
— Renzo Downey (@RenzoDowney)
Passport shows he arrived in Pakistan on Tues and left on Sun.
Boarding pass shows his scheduled departure from Karachi at 5:20pm on Sun and arrival in O'Hare at 8:15am today.
, asking his followers if the law should be changed to 鈥渇orbid foreign born people from holding any elected office.鈥�
French also reposted tweets from Amy Mek, founder of the conservative outlet Rise Align Ignite Reclaim foundation, .
Mek鈥檚 previous posts on the North Texas Muslim development EPIC City sparked backlash against the development, including from Gov. Greg Abbott. Mek accused the development of promoting Sharia law and spread other negative rhetoric about Islam. Soon after, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton announced investigations into the project.
As of Tuesday evening, French was still posting and sharing anti-Muslim tweets.
As party chair, French has been open about his goal to 鈥渕ake Tarrant County inhospitable for Democrats鈥� by pulling the county GOP further to the right. In July 2024, French joined other Republican leaders in Fort Worth urging attendees to resist a Democratic campaign to 鈥溾�� and embrace Christian nationalism.
It鈥檚 also not the first time French has made controversial statements online. Republican leaders like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called for French鈥檚 removal in July after asking his followers in a now deleted post, 鈥淲ho is a bigger threat to America?鈥� Respondents had two options: 鈥淛ews鈥� or 鈥淢uslims.鈥�
鈥淏o French鈥檚 words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party,鈥� Patrick . 鈥淎ntisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas.鈥�
French later apologized on X, saying 鈥渁ntisemitism has no place in the Republican Party.鈥�
French鈥檚 Republican colleagues over posts using several slurs against political opponents, some of which said French's behavior is part of a broader normalization of hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric in the party.
Penelope Rivera is 四虎影院's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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