Ellison Wants Aid Cut to Egyptian Government

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim member of the House of Representatives, said on Sunday he wants aid cut off to Egypt. He said:

I would cut off aid but engage in intense diplomacy in Egypt and in the region to try to say, look, we will restore aid when you stop the bloodshed in the street and set up a path towards democracy that you were on before. In my mind, there’s no way to say that this was not a coup. It is. We should say so. And then follow our own law, which says we cannot fund the coup leaders.

When the Egyptian military ousted Mohamed Morsi, Ellison said:

My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost loved ones in the Egyptian military’s crackdown on nonviolent protestors.  The military’s actions are inexcusable. There is no justification for the use of lethal force against unarmed demonstrators. This type of violence will only deepen Egypt’s divisions and political crisis.The Obama administration was right to condemn the crackdown. It should also suspend U.S. assistance to Egypt’s military until democracy is restored.  This would not only make clear that we do not support this type of violent repression, but is also required under U.S. law when a military deposes a democratically elected leader.

In 2008 Ellison’s trip to Mecca was financed by the Muslim American Society (MAS). According to federal prosecutors, MAS was founded as the arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.