Boykin’s Speech at Civic Breakfast Stirs Controversy in Washington State
A scheduled appearance by retired Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, a noted conspiracy theorist who has called President Obama a “Marxist” and warns incessantly of a “Muslim threat,” this morning at a civic “prayer breakfast” in Washington has stirred controversy.
Muslim-American community leaders in Seattle last week raised concerns about Boykin’s appearance, saying he is an “anti-Muslim bigot” with a history of hateful remarks about both Muslims and President Obama.
“While Mr. Boykin has the right to hold extremist anti-Muslim views, his un-American bigotry should not receive the endorsement of elected officials who serve citizens of all faiths,” said Arsalan Bukhari, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for Washington, based in Seattle.
Alongside a history of many other controversial remarks, Boykin has said that “Americans need to have more babies” to counteract the world’s growing Muslim population; called President Obama a “Communist dictator” who is using psychological operations on Americans; claimed that the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” doctrine has led to the “absolute destruction” of the military; warned that Obama is “creating a Marxist nation” with an agenda “straight out of the Communist Manifesto”; and even theorized that Obamacare is part of a conspiracy to create a “Brownshirt army.”
Apparently, Clark County Mayor’s and Civic Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast planning committee were unaware of that history and voted to retain Boykin as their keynote speaker for this morning’s event, the Columbian reported. But that came in spite of many dissenting voices.
Roger Button, a spokesman for the local chapter of the YMCA, one of the event’s key sponsors, told the paper that the organization had voted to rescind the invitation, saying when it invitation was first made, most committee members “didn’t really look into it.”
The YMCA issued a statement: “The purpose of the mayor’s prayer breakfast is to pray for, encourage and uplift our civic leaders, first responders and those that serve and protect our community. It is meant to be an uplifting event, one in which we call on the risen Christ to bless our leaders. Originally we had asked our keynote to speak based on his Christian testimony. In recent days statements made by the speaker have come to our attention that detract from the purpose and mission of the prayer breakfast. Therefore the YMCA does not support bringing this speaker to the Clark County Mayors’ & Civic Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast.”
Several other public officials also claimed that Boykin’s presence would keep them away from the public event. Vancouver City Council member Jack Burkman said he had already planned to skip this year’s breakfast, a decision underscored by the keynote speaker.
“Wow, how did they make that decision?” he said. “It’s not new information. Boykin has been getting a lot of negative publicity for quite some time. This is a clear signal to me not to attend this event.”
Vancouver City Council member Alishia Topper also posted on Facebook: “I’m in New York this Friday, but if I were home I would not attend this year’s prayer breakfast because of the keynote speaker. I do not support hate and am shocked the event organizers chose such a polarizing guest speaker. Organizers should reconsider their invitation and event sponsors should think about how sponsoring this event will make their business look.”
