Jefferson Parish Colleges
A businessman who bragged about attending the “Cease the Steal” rally on the Capitol the day of the revolt—and as soon as blamed lecturers for “the autumn of our younger individuals on this nation”—has formally turn out to be a faculty board member in Louisiana’s largest district.
Rafael Rafidi was sworn into the Jefferson Parish faculty board throughout a particular assembly on Wednesday, months after calling lawmakers who criticized Trump’s position in inciting the Capitol riot “traitors.” The transfer has angered lecturers within the district, who say he wasn’t correctly vetted.
“You and Mitch are fucking traitors you piece of shit!” Rafidi wrote final February, in accordance with screenshots of his since-deleted social media posts by NOLA.com
The feedback had been a reply to a Twitter put up from former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu who applauded Louisiana Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R) for having “voted his conscience” to convict former President Donald Trump throughout his impeachment trial in February final yr. Along with praising Cassidy, Landrieu steered that Sen. John Kennedy (R) was “a humiliation” for opposing Trump’s impeachment.
“Go fuck yourselves,” Rafidi added, individually calling Cassidy a “piece of shit.”
The businessman and contractor snagged the board spot after seven of 9 members voted to nominate Rafidi because the interim successor to a board member who resigned on the finish of final yr. Just one board member, Ricky Johnson, voted in opposition to Rafidi’s appointment, whereas one different member, Simeon Dickerson, abstained.
Kesler Camese-Jones, president of the Jefferson Federation of Academics, stated that Rafidi had not been correctly reviewed earlier than his swearing-in.
“Nobody actually had a chance to vet this particular person previous to his appointment,” Camese-Jones advised The Every day Beast.
Academics are “actually upset,” she stated, noting that some had aired considerations about his remarks being “very aggressive” and “anti-teacher.”
Dickerson advised The Every day Beast on Thursday that he wasn’t conscious of a majority of Rafidi’s stances, and it was solely after he noticed “a number of disturbing quotes” from Rafidi that his “place instantly modified from abstaining to this man must go.”
Dickerson stated that he's now calling for Rafidi’s resignation.
“I really watched this man take an oath to the Structure, the very Structure that he tried to overthrow only a yr in the past—the irony of it,” Dickerson stated. “He attended the revolt and he marched on the Capitol.”
Whereas it's unclear from social media posts whether or not Rafidi had joined the throngs of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol throughout the Jan. 6 assault, Rafidi claimed that he was current for the tackle the place Trump urged his supporters to “struggle like hell,” on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.
“I used to be there, heard the complete speech and walked peacefully with 1000's singing God bless America and praying on the way in which to the capital. What’s true now for positive is the FIX IS IN! And it’s all of you within the media and authorities. What a disgrace!” Rafidi tweeted days after the riot.
Inside hours of Trump’s notorious speech, the Capitol turned the literal stomping grounds of a bloody revolt by his supporters.
When requested why he believed an amazing majority of the board had voted in favor of Rafidi’s appointment, Dickerson stated that he hoped they didn’t learn about “his previous transgressions,” and that Rafidi had been beneficial on the deserves of his predecessor, Larry Dale, an 11-year veteran of the board.
Board President Clay Moise didn't instantly reply to The Every day Beast’s request for touch upon Thursday.
Along with his posts boasting about marching to the Capitol and blasting lawmakers who defied Trump, Rafidi had additionally beforehand disparaged lecturers, suggesting in a 2018 tweet that they've “no values, no work ethic, and simply suck as a lot as you possibly can from people who work laborious,” in accordance with NOLA.com.
In that put up, Rafidi declared that lecturers had been “the autumn of our younger individuals on this nation.”
“I do know some laborious working lecturers in Jefferson Parish that bust their tills every single day,” Dickerson stated, condemning the put up to The Every day Beast. “It’s a direct slap within the face and he’s unfit to function a faculty board member. This isn't what Jefferson Parish represents and this isn't what a faculty board member represents.”
On Wednesday, Dickerson had addressed considerations about one other put up that appeared on certainly one of Rafidi’s social media accounts and criticized the NFL for taking part in the Black nationwide anthem, “Elevate Each Voice and Sing.”
Dickerson stated he had reminded Rafidi that he can be serving on a faculty board that represented a majority of Black college students.
Johnson, who had opposed Rafidi’s appointment, then pressed the businessman to “clear up” his social media posts.
“There are some issues in your Fb that I'm simply saying, as a board member, you won't need that one there,” Johnson stated on Wednesday, in accordance with NOLA.com. “You may wish to clear up your Fb.”
In response to its web site, the Jefferson Parish Public College System serves roughly 50,000 college students and about 38 % of its scholar inhabitants is Black.
Rafidi didn't instantly reply to The Every day Beast’s request for touch upon Thursday, however quite a lot of the posts had been deleted or faraway from public view on Thursday. His Twitter account additionally gave the impression to be deleted on Thursday.
Camese-Jones stated Thursday she plans to take a seat down with the board president to deal with the logistics of what occurred.
“Did they learn about this particular person and nonetheless vote to simply accept him?”
Dickerson in the meantime believes Rafidi’s appointment may very well be damaging to the development of race relations within the county.
“This man can do extra harm in six month than all of us can do in eight years,” Dickerson stated. “He’s dangerous for the development of race relations in Jefferson Parish.”