NEW BERLIN, Wis. — New Berlin Mayor Dave Ament is under fire after two Muslim organizations called for his resignation following the discovery of anti-Muslim, racist, and sexist content he shared publicly on Facebook.
The Muslim Women's Coalition and the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance brought Ament's posts to light. The content includes reposts such as "If you voted for a Muslim for elected office - you are a traitor," "If it weren't for white people slavery would've never ended," and posts featuring sexually suggestive content.
Janan Najeeb, founder of the Muslim Women's Coalition, said she was shocked when she first saw the posts.
"At first, I didn't think it was real," Najeeb said.
Najeeb described the content as deeply offensive and wide-ranging in its targets.
"Anti-Muslim, it's anti-black, anti-immigrant, it's very sexist to the point it's cringey and unfortunate for someone of his caliber and stature, and age to be posting some of these things. It was revolting, actually," Najeeb said.
The posts appear on Ament's personal Facebook account, which was public until questions were raised about the content. At times, dozens of reposts appear daily. Among them: a video of a group of people holding "Ban Islam Now" signs, and another post captioned "How to stop a Muslim invasion," accompanied by a video showing military men throwing bacon at people.
"It's concerning to me as a citizen here in Wisconsin and as someone that represents the Muslim community," Najeeb said. "He's really defining women by their cleavage to market his racist support for certain posts and reposting that — that doesn't bode well."
Najeeb also questioned Ament's fitness for office given the volume of posts.
"The level at which he's posting such outrageous things makes me wonder if he's stable honestly," Najeeb said.
Attempts to speak with Ament in person were unsuccessful. When TMJ4 went to his office, we were told he was not in. Returning an hour later, the doors were locked, and the lights were off.
Ament later sent an email statement saying in part: "What is on my personal Facebook page does not represent the official position of the City of New Berlin." He added, "It has never been my intention to disparage or offend any individual...including the Muslim community. My intention was simply to share information on matters of public concern."
A review of his Facebook page, however, shows that for roughly every dozen reposts, only one relates to New Berlin.
I contacted every alderman about the posts. Many said I was the first to inform them of the content. Alderman Maxey said over the phone that he does not support the posts and that "as a public official you just can't post anything that comes to mind." Alderman Stribl responded by text: "I unequivocally condemn such language and beliefs, which have no place in our community."
The Muslim Women's Coalition is calling for Ament's resignation.
"We're calling for his resignation. I don't think New Berlin needs someone like that representing them," Najeeb said.
"It's just inappropriate for an elected official and something that creates division and puts people at risk," Najeeb said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
