- The Kentucky House Education Committee Chair was quick to clear her post.
- The comparison came as cases rose in both Kentucky and nationwide as the Delta variant spread.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – The Kentucky House Education Committee chair comes under fire after apparently comparing efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccinations to the Jonestown massacre.
Rep. Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, tweeted photos Tuesday morning of cult leader Jim Jones and senior White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Jones ‘photo contains a text box that read “I convinced over 900 people to drink my Koolaid” – a reference to the hundreds of people in Jones’ cult who drank poisoned Kool-Aid and who died in mass murder in 1978.
Next to it, Fauci’s picture simply says “Amateur”.
“Some will nag, they won’t be able to help themselves,” Huff tweeted alongside the picture.
Huff quickly deleted the post. A Courier Journal reporter received a screenshot of the post and tweeted it.
“I actually deleted the tweet because of the vulgarity in the comments,” Huff said in a separate tweet that was later also deleted.
The original tweet was “representative of efforts to mandate and control citizens,” she said.
“Our students have to be in school with parents deciding whether to wear a mask,” continued Huff.
Huff said in a third tweet that her first Jonestown tweet was “no reference to vaccinations at all,” but about “mandates and control efforts.”
“I have no problem with vaccinations at all. It’s up to you whether you want to vaccinate or not.”
Your comments come as Kentucky school districts weigh up whether or not masks are required for schools and whether mask rules apply to all students, including those who have been vaccinated.
Kentucky has seen a steady spike in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, with nine counties falling into the critical “red zone” on Tuesday. Two of these are Counties Laurel and Whitley, which Huff represents.
The cases have also risen nationwide. With a third of the nation’s eligible population remaining unvaccinated and the delta variant continuing to spread, the seven-day average for new cases per day rose to more than 37,000 on Tuesday in the past two weeks, up from less than 13,700 on July 6.
“We’re trying to get our children back to school SAFE and in August so that they can STAY there,” says Jefferson County teacher and activist Tiffany Dunn said in response to Huff’s tweets. “She should either encourage vaccinations or at least shut up.”
Huff’s tweets sparked multiple calls to step down completely, as well as jokes about Kentucky’s poor performance in national education rankings.
“If the Education Chair was going to appeal to their grassroots community, fine, but Twitter is global – businesses, families, and anyone else considering Kentucky seeing this,” said James Thomas, professor of education at the University of Kentucky , tweeted.
“We have to stop voting for those who spoil the ‘look’ of Kentucky. I’m not interested in parties, I’m interested in KY. “
You can reach Olivia Krauth at [email protected] and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.
