The governor, asked about the posts during an unrelated event on Friday, said it was the first he was hearing of the remarks. | AP Photo Murphy aide suspended for deriding evangelicals on Facebook

An aide to Gov. Phil Murphy was suspended Friday after repeatedly posting derogatory comments about evangelical Christians on Facebook, attacking members of President Donald Trump’s administration and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through a religious lens.

In one comment, Noemi Velazquez — a staffer working on constituent relations for the governor — said lawmakers on Capitol Hill and those working for Trump “are all evangelical assholes,” according to screenshots posted on the conservative Save Jersey blog.


“Molesters, liars, drunks, racists, heartless, bigots,” Velazquez wrote in a comment below one political meme.

In a comment on a meme about Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford when he was in high school, Velazquez sarcastically writes that she “forgot he’s an evangelical and did a lot of church going,” adding she wondered “why it’s not on his calendar.”

She also shared another meme sharply critical of evangelicals, among other comments.

An administration official said Friday that Velazquez has been suspended without pay for 10 days. She will also be required to undergo sensitivity “re-training,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a personnel matter.

“These comments by an employee on social media criticizing people of faith do not represent the views of the Governor or the Murphy Administration — and we condemn them in the strongest terms,” Alyana Alfaro, a spokeswoman for Murphy, said in a statement. “The matter is being addressed internally.”

Velazquez, who earns a $60,000 salary and was previously a staffer with the Jersey City Board of Education, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

She is a founder of LUPEPAC, or Latinas United for Political Empowerment, a political action committee that seeks to recruit and train Latinas to run for elected office and pursue careers in public service. The group endorsed Murphy’s gubernatorial bid.

The governor, asked about the posts during an unrelated event Friday morning, said it was the first he was hearing of the remarks. While he said such comments are not appropriate, he appeared to blame Trump for creating an environment in which people are fired up.

“Sadly, because of our president, we are a very divided nation right now and we shouldn’t be. So that has informed an enormous amount of emotions on both sides of this,” Murphy said. “But I don’t think there’s any place for name calling and calling out whole categories of people. We can disagree without being disagreeable.”