A Broward school board member took to social media Thursday to defend a comment she made welcoming support from all groups, including the far-right organization Proud Boys.
Brenda Fam spoke about sex trafficking last weekend at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, which the Sun Sentinel reported featured anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by some participants, as well as an appearance by uniformed members of the Proud Boys.
“If going to a rally entitled ‘Protect the Children’; carrying a sign that states ‘Grooming Leads to Sex Trafficking’ is offensive, then so be it,” Fam wrote on Facebook about her attendance at the event.
Fam, who was elected in November to a seat in the Weston and Davie area, added that she welcomes support for her cause "to protect the children" from all groups.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
"Doesn’t matter if you are gay, straight, black, white, Black Lives Matter, or the Proud Boys," she wrote.
The Proud Boys are “a right-wing extremist group with a violent agenda," according to the Anti-Defamation League. "They are primarily misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration.”
The group is also known for its connection to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. Several members of the Proud Boys were charged with sedition during the riots.
Local
Following her comments, Fam is now being denounced by civil-rights groups, including ADL Florida.
“ADL Florida was profoundly disturbed to learn that Broward County School Board Member Brenda Fam spoke at a rally in her public capacity organized by organizations engaging in anti-LGBTQ+ extremism,” according to a statement from the ADL obtained by Sun Sentinel.
The statement said Fam “failed to condemn the bigotry espoused by the organizers and attendees," Sun Sentinel reported.
According to Sun Sentinel, several of Fam’s fellow school board members said they were shocked and alarmed by her participation in the rally and her Facebook comments.
