Protesters plan to gather in Kalkaska Friday to speak out against Islamophobic Facebook posts made by the village president.
Jeff Sieting frequently posts content on his Facebook page directed against Muslims, immigrants and liberals.
Last November, he made a post titled “Kill Them All – Every Last One” that appears to be copy-and-pasted from another source. The post compares Islam to “a flesh-eating bacteria,” and calls for nuclear weapons to be used on Muslim cities. Sieting’s post was widely shared on social media this week.
In another post in February, Sieting warned of the dangers of immigration, saying “If you want a pet Muslim to make you feel all warm and fuzzy about yourself, go get one and drag him into your home to stay.”
Sieting’s Facebook page also contains many conspiracy theories about microwaves, vaccines, Sharia law and the debunked “PizzaGate” scandal linking Hillary Clinton to a human trafficking ring.
Phoebe Hopps lives north of Kalkaska in Antrim County. She saw the posts Tuesday.
“I think it just hit me at the wrong moment, and I was just very upset by it,” says Hopps.
She says her friends in Kalkaska are outraged by the posts.
“They were very upset about what the village president was saying,” says Hopps. “It sounded like really horrific vitriol. The climate that we’re in right now … having a call to kill Muslims and burn their homes down – it’s just really inappropriate.”
Hopps is organizing a protest called “No Hate In Kalkaska.” Protesters plan to rally at 7 p.m. Friday near the trout fountain in the center of town.
Sieting did not respond to a request for comment for this story. As of Tuesday night, his Facebook page was public.