New Jersey sheriff's officer Alex Pino is being investigated after posting an anti-Muslim rant on Facebook in which he called for the tearing down of mosques and endorsed Donald Trump.
Pino, of the Hudson County Sheriff's office and a three-time Iraq War veteran, made the statements in response to a Muslim Facebook friend's comments last week, NJ.com reports. The comment has since been taken down but not before a friend posted a screen shot of it. The comment partially reads: "F*** THE KURAN F*** THE MUSLIMS F*** THE TERRORIST. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT." The Hudson County Sheriff's Office placed Pino on paid leave around Thanksgiving once the office found out about the comments.
Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari released a statement today calling the statements "unacceptable" and not a reflection of the Sheriff's Office. He also said the matter was being investigated. "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," said Sheriff Schillari. "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."
In an interview with NJ.com Pino stood by his comments at first saying "We’re entitled to our opinions." "I’m tired of being bashed all the time," said Pino. "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 then backtracked and explained he wasn't talking about the "good Muslims"in his post despite saying all Muslims.
"I was not directing that toward the good Muslims, I was directing that toward the terrorists...I'm completely against hurting people. 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."
