Texas prosecutor resigns over post comparing Black Lives Matter to the Nazis

Kaylynn Williford, who has served in her position since 1992, slammed for sharing post saying ‘Nazis tore down statues. Banned free speech. Institute gun control. Sound familiar?”

JTA — A prosecutor in the US state of Texas resigned Monday over her sharing of a Facebook post that compared demonstrators against racial injustice to Nazis.

Kaylynn Williford, a prosecutor in Harris County, which includes Houston, stepped down days after she shared the post from a Facebook page that has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and praised US President Donald Trump, The New York Times reported.

Williford shared the post on Thursday and said she removed it shortly after, when someone pointed out how offensive it was.

Mauro Beltramini, a criminal defense lawyer in Houston, saved the post in a screenshot and posted it on Facebook. He told The New York Times he saw it on Friday.

The post shows an image of hundreds of rings in a box, likely removed from a Nazi death camp. The caption reads: “Wedding bands that were removed from Holocaust victims prior to being executed, 1945. Each ring represents a destroyed family. Never forget, Nazis tore down statues. Banned free speech. Blamed economic hardships on one group of people. Institute gun control. Sound familiar?”

Williford in a statement emailed to the newspaper confirmed that she had shared the post, but had not intended to make a comparison to Black Lives Matter protests.

“What I interpreted as a post that promoted tolerance was taken in a completely different manner,” she said.