From: Myra Schilling
Columbus
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers’ explanation of taking money from an organization tied to white nationalists and white supremacists is not good enough. It is not the fault of The Republic for reporting the facts of the situation, and him shifting the blame is unacceptable.
Myers’ first mistake was thinking that an immigration forum hosted by this administration would be non-political. The current president started his campaign in 2015 by saying that immigrants were rapists, murders and bad hombres. Shortly after his visit, Myers, on his public Facebook page, shared an article from The Republic regarding terrorist threats in America, and insinuated, without proof, that terrorists are coming from the southern border. The individuals that were talked about in said article were U.S. citizens. This is a talking point being perpetuated from the administration for us to fear immigrants and not realize that the real terrorist threat is home grown.
His second mistake was not doing his due diligence by researching the organization that was paying for his trip. He stated that he went to their website and it didn’t say anything about targeting a “specific group.” If he would have taken an extra 5 minutes to do a Google search, he would have found quotes from the founder of FAIR supporting eugenics and making statements regarding Latin-Americans and direct links from this group to the KKK and Holocaust deniers.
I appreciate what Myers is doing and has done to combat the opioid crisis in Bartholomew County, and being on the board of Su Casa and supporting our diverse community. As a public official, he should know better. He should do his due diligence of researching who is providing funding for his trips while he is representing our community and holding public office.
