A group of organizations are calling on a Tennessee judge to be reprimanded after he repeatedly posted racist and antisemitic content to his Facebook page, one of which said Jews should “get the f**k overt the Holocaust.”
According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency, Jim Lammey of the Shelby County Criminal Court posted a link to an article written by known Holocaust denier David Cole, which included anti-Muslim slurs and slams against integration in schools.
The article, which referred to Muslims as “foreign mud,” was one of numerous anti-immigration articles posted by Lammey to his personal Facebook page, according to reports. Other links shared by Lammey indulged in unproven conspiracy theories.
Lammey has denied being racist, but according to the Commercial Appeal, a local advocacy groups says he’s been known to treat some Hispanic immigrants unfairly in court.
The state judge orders some immigrants seeking probation to register with federal immigration authorities or stay in jail. Registering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could lead to their deportation. Lammey is the only one of the 10 Criminal Court judges in Shelby County to use this practice – and he recently jailed an immigrant who hadn’t signed up with ICE.
"Walter Pablo is one of those people. More than a decade ago, Judge Lammey ordered him to serve a full one year sentence for a first-time conviction for which most people rarely serve more than a few days in detention. The difference for Walter was that he was born in Mexico." 5/
— Just City (@JustCity901) May 8, 2019
In an interview with a local news outlet, the judge called the controversy over his posts “embarrassing.” Speaking to the Commercial Appeal, he said that he meant for the posts to be private and had no idea David Cole was a Holocaust denier.
“I certainly don’t agree with that, being a Holocaust denier. My best friend — who’s deceased now — was Jewish and I wouldn’t do that,” he said.
As JTA points out, the Jewish groups calling for him to be reprimanded include the Anti-Defamation League Southeast Region, Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville & Middle Tennessee, Jewish Community Partners and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. Others include the NAACP Memphis Branch, Memphis Islamic Center, American Muslim Advisory Council, Bridges, Facing History and Ourselves, Memphis Islamic Center and the National Civil Rights Museum.
Featured image: screen grab/WMC5
