Republican Lawmaker Says Muslim Immigrants ‘Must Be Banned’

Rep. Andy Ogles posted a string of anti-Muslim comments on social media in recent days, including calling for the deportation of U.S. citizens and saying that Muslim immigrants “must be banned.”

“Muslims don’t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie,” Ogles, a Republican representing Tennessee, posted on Monday.

Ogles is part of an increasingly vocal group of House Republicans who have made Islamophobic comments — often with little public blowback from within their party. Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday about Ogles’ statements.

Ogles’ latest comments came after a counterprotester threw an improvised explosive device into a crowd of far-right protesters near the residence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Two men were charged with attempting to support ISIS.

Mamdani condemned both the protest and the act of violence in response to it. Ogles shared Mamdani’s comments and suggested that the Department of Justice should deport the mayor, one of the most prominent Muslims in U.S. politics and a naturalized U.S. citizen.

But Ogles’ anti-Muslim comments predate the weekend. He has said he will introduce a bill to halt entry from several predominantly Muslim countries. President Donald Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. in 2015, during his first presidential campaign, and as president instituted travel bans that include certain majority-Muslim countries.

“The burqas and hijabs have no place in this country. Let’s make America look like America again,” Ogles said in a post on Friday.

Democrats on Monday condemned Ogles’ comments.

“This disgusting shit doesn’t belong in American society. And Republicans who support it don’t belong in Congress,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark posted.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez said, “Every Republican must condemn Andy’s bigotry. He doesn’t deserve to hold public office.”

Rep. Robin Kelly tied Ogles to Rep. Randy Fine, who posted repeatedly last month that he would rather live among dogs than Muslims.

“The open Islamophobia coming from some in the Republican Party is disgraceful, dangerous and un-American,” Kelly wrote. “Randy Fine and Andy Ogles are spreading hate and should be censured.”

Ogles’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the criticism he is facing.

Ogles and Fine are both members of the Sharia Free America Caucus, formed by Reps. Keith Self and Chip Roy in December to oppose the “dangers of Sharia.”

Some other members of the caucus also posted Monday about the New York arrests.

“Islamic terrorism will turn American communities into Third World war zones,” Rep. Brandon Gill wrote on Sunday.

Gill and Ogles both shared a post from the far-right activist Laura Loomer on Saturday claiming that a flight had to divert its path after “an Arabic looking Muslim passenger onboard the plane threatened to blow the plane up with a bomb!”

NBC News reported that the incident was a misunderstanding; the passenger had set a timer on his phone so that he could pray for Ramadan.

“We don’t have to live like this,” Gill posted in response to the X post from Loomer. “Mass Islamic migration is a choice, and it will turn America into a third world country.”