After lashing out on Facebook at “leftists” for “getting exactly what they asked for” just a day after a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent, Doña Ana County Republican Party chairman Roman Jimenez has resigned.
Jimenez posted his thoughts on the county party’s Facebook page.
Almost immediately, people across the state called for Jimenez to resign or for the county party to remove him from his position. Criticism came from Democrats and Republicans alike, including the state Republican Party chairman.
On Tuesday afternoon, Victor Contreras announced he would take over the Doña Ana County chair position until the county central committee meets to find a permanent replacement.
In a statement, Contreras did not directly address Jimenez’s Facebook post, but said the county party was against the violent actions that took place over the weekend:
In wake of recent events in Charlottesville, I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Heather Heyer, and to all those who were injured in the senseless violence that occurred over the weekend. I, along with the Republican Party of Doña Ana County take a bold stance against all the extreme acts of violence, racism and hate that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Jimenez works for a private security firm, International Protection Agency. The company’s president and CEO, Aaron Jones, told NM Political Report Jimenez’s statement was a personal one and does not reflect the company’s views.
In an email, Jones described Jimenez as a “loving and genuine” person who “made a mistake with a knee jerk reaction comment.”
Jones added that IPS dealt the the matter internally and called the issue a “learning lesson” for the company. “I would hope that 11 years of impeccable service by IPS would not be judged and overshadowed by one excited utterance of a fairly new employee making a questionable utterance in vain,” he wrote.
Jimenez’s original Facebook post has been deleted, but read:
These violent, leftist protesters are the brainless robots that are created by evil Soros money. The white ones have been taught to hate their color, the women are taught to hate men, black and minorities want to kill whites and police. They then have the audacity to call conservatives racist. Their own racism, hate and violence has created the divide amongst those that refuse to be bullied on anymore. They’re getting exactly what they asked for. A segregated society of groups that they’ve created and even labeled themselves.
Jimenez later said his statement was not in direct reference to the protests or the death of Heather Heyer.