Texas state Rep. Jolanda Jones has been forced to issue an apology following a backlash after she compared Democrats abandoning their duties over redistricting to Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
The Democrat lawmaker’s remarks came during an interview on former CNN host Don Lemon’s show.
During the interview, Jones discussed the importance of standing up against what she called “racist” actions by Republicans, which she linked to the Holocaust.
Jones, along with several other Texas House Democrats, left the state on Monday to avoid a vote on Republicans’ proposed redistricting plan.
The map would potentially secure five new GOP U.S. House seats in the 2026 elections.
Outraged Democrats claim that the move could disenfranchise minority voters.
Among those to lose their seat under the plan is race-baiting anti-Trump Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX).
In the interview, Jones likened the situation to the Holocaust, claiming that Democrats are like the Jewish people who were facing injustice during that time, leading to devastating consequences.
“We better have the courage to stand up, otherwise, we will fall for anything,” she said.
“And in this country, we will be defeated, deported.
“I mean, we will lose all of our rights,” she falsely claimed.
“And if you think it can’t happen, it can.”
She continued by deceitfully drawing a direct comparison to the Holocaust, stating:
“People are like, ‘Well, how did the Holocaust happen? How was somebody in a position to kill all them people?’
“Well, good people remain silent, or good people didn’t realize that what happens to them can very soon happen to me or somebody I love.”
Jones also claimed that she fears her family will be targetted in the same way that Nazis did with Jews.
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However, after facing backlash for her remarks, Jones issued an apology.
In a statement, she retracted her comparison to the Holocaust.
Yet, despite the backlash, Jones still pushed false claims in her apology, alleging that the redistricting plan is “Trump’s attempt to disenfranchise black and brown people.”
In her apology, Jones said:
“I made a statement on ‘The Don Lemon Show’ comparing Trump’s attempt to disenfranchise black and brown people to the Holocaust.
“That was a mistake, and I apologize for it,” the statement read.
“Trump is coming for my community, and I get emotional about it and make strong statements.
“But that was going too far, and I retract that comparison.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, criticized Jones’ original comments, calling the actions of the fleeing House Democrats “anti-democratic.”
He said, “Fleeing Texas House Democrats continue to beclown themselves through this desperate, anti-democratic stunt.
“Unlike these radicals, Governor Abbott refuses to abandon Texans.
“If the House Democrats who deserted Texans were serious about delivering results, they would come back to the Texas Capitol and do the job voters elected them to do.”
Jones also made remarks about her refusal to return to the state, saying, “I ain’t got to do nothing but die.”
She expressed her intention to stay out of Texas as long as needed, invoking the civil rights movements of the past.
“The point is, I will stay gone as long as I need to stay gone,” she said.
“And I hope that my colleagues feel as convicted as I do.
“That right now, you know, I always wondered what I would have done… Would I have been walking on…the Edmund Pettus Bridge?
“Would I have been willing to walk for over a year with the Montgomery bus boycott?
“And you know what? Now is our civil rights moment, people.”
In response to the absences, Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows announced that arrest warrants would be signed against the missing lawmakers if authorized by a vote of the chamber.
Abbott has also threatened to expel the fleeing Democrats from the Texas House.
READ MORE – Democrat Jasmine Crockett Panics as Texas Lawmakers Move to Boot Her from Own District
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