This GOP Lawmaker Just Won't Stop Making Bigoted Comments About Muslims
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) recently added to his ever-growing list of bigoted remarks — endorsing the starvation campaign against Palestinians in Gaza, falsely accusing a Muslim member of Congress of being a terrorist and doubling down on those beliefs to HuffPost this week.
The Florida Republican dealt with major online backlash last week for his response to a post on X by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) in which she labeled Israel's ongoing aid blockade to Gaza a 'war crime' as it causes mass starvation in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
'The only way to end this genocide is with an arms embargo,' Tlaib wrote on Thursday. 'Time for my colleagues to end their silence.'
Fine replied the following day with a string of inflammatory posts that falsely called Tlaib — a Palestinian American who was born and raised in Michigan — a terrorist. His posts also included hashtags that endorsed starving people in Gaza, despite it being a violation of international humanitarian law to use starvation as a weapon.
'Tell your fellow Muslim terrorists to release the hostages and surrender,' Fine wrote, referring to the remaining Israelis being held captive by Hamas. 'Until then, #StarveAway.'
The next post read, 'Hey Muslim terrorists, cry harder. #StarveAway,' which was followed by, 'I love blocking Muslim terrorists. They clearly aren't too hungry. #KeepOn Starving.'
A post on May 3 by Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) endorsed continuing to starve Palestinians in Gaza and called a Muslim colleague in the House a "terrorist."
X
Despite the posts overwhelmingly receiving negative reactions, Fine did not retract his comments. When HuffPost asked the lawmaker on Tuesday to clarify his accusation against Tlaib, he responded, 'I mean, look at what she believes. I believe if you support Muslim terror, you are a terrorist.'
When HuffPost's Arthur Delaney asked what he was referring to, Fine laughed before asking, 'Do you need a list?'
'I think you just look in general, you know?' he continued. 'So yeah, I don't mince words, as you all will learn. I think you've got to call good good, and evil evil.'
Fine has made a variety of offensive comments on social media, mostly before he narrowly won a special election last month to represent Florida's 6th District in Congress.
In an April 4, 2019, post on Facebook, Fine accused a progressive panel on Israel and Palestine of being antisemitic. When a Jewish panel organizer pushed back on Fine's claims and noted that most of the panel was Jewish, the lawmaker dismissed them as 'Judenrat' — a World War II-era term used to describe a Nazi-installed Jewish council.
On May 15, 2021, Fine called Palestinians 'animals' on social media and replied in the affirmative to a commenter who asked if it was OK to bomb a building with American reporters in it. The following month, he allegedly told a Muslim Floridian on Messenger to blow themselves up and tweeted, 'Thanks for the pic!' in response to a photo of a Palestinian baby reportedly killed by an Israeli airstrike.
Randy Fine speaks with the media after winning the 6th District race to replace former U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, on April 1, 2025, in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
On Dec. 2, 2023, Fine tweeted that Israel should stop aid trucks from entering Gaza, saying Palestinians should 'eat rockets' instead and including the hashtag #BombsAway.
On Sept. 6, 2024, the lawmaker responded to Israel's killing of American peace activist Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank with, 'Throw rocks, get shot. One less #MuslimTerrorist. #FireAway.'
On Nov. 26 of last year, Fine appeared to threaten Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — the first two Muslim women elected to the House — calling himself the 'Hebrew Hammer' and telling the lawmakers to 'consider leaving before I get there.' On Jan. 2, he tweeted that he was in Jerusalem 'talking about the need to solve America's #MuslimProblem.'
At a March 29 Florida state Senate hearing — just days before his election to Congress — Fine told an attendee wearing a keffiyeh to 'enjoy your terrorist rag.' The lawmaker then threatened to 'clear the room' after some objected to his comment, adding, 'I'm the chairman, I can say whatever I want.'
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Tuesday it has sent letters to more than 1,600 congressional staffers urging House members to publicly condemn Fine's bigoted rhetoric and hold him accountable for his remarks.
'Randy Fine's long and documented history of promoting bigotry and political violence is a danger to his colleagues, to American Muslims and Palestinians, and to the foundational principles of our democracy,' CAIR Government Affairs Department Director Robert McCaw said in a statement. 'Congress must take a stand against hate before it further poisons our national discourse or incites real-world violence and acts of terrorism.'
It was unclear whether Tlaib's fellow Democrats have spoken up in her defense or condemned Fine's comments since the Friday posts. A spokesperson for Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), who chairs the House Democratic caucus, did not respond to HuffPost's request for comment on Wednesday.
Arthur Delaney contributed reporting.
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