The Sussex County Republican Committee is under fire for running a Twitter page filled with offensive comments including a call to "eradicate Islam from every town, city, county and state in our homeland."

The Twitter account includes retweets of memes with hateful language about Muslims and specifically about Muslim Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, calling them in one case "the enemy within." Other memes shared this month group them with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, calling them "stupid b*****s" and "Whores of Babble-on."

Jerry Scanlan, chairman of the Sussex GOP and vice chairman of the board of trustees at Sussex County Community College, did not disavow the comments in a statement on Facebook about the controversy. Instead, he claimed Gov. Phil Murphy was going after him for political reasons.

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"This is a very lame attempt by the Murphy administration to change the subject in Sussex County. It comes on the heels of a demand by the Sussex County legislators for the Murphy administration to account for its reasoning behind its illegal Sanctuary State directive," Scanlan wrote, referring to the spat over a directive that restricts state, local and county police from participating in federal immigration operations.

"I find it shocking that Murphy found local Democrats to do this for him," added Scanlan, who has been the party chairman in Sussex County since 2015.

He said the four Democratic members of Congress support "radical policies" and that "I stand by my wholehearted opposition to the policies they promote."

One tweet, shared July 17, has a photo of them and the words: "America is demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of these radical terrorists for traitorous and slanderous remarks and attacks against America and the president of the United States of America."

The Sussex County Democratic Committee said on Facebook that it considered the memes, images and comments to be racist, misogynistic and religiously intolerant.

The messaging against the four congresswomen echoes that used by President Donald Trump, who has claimed they hate America, support terrorism and hate Israel. It's part of a growing trend of biased rhetoric directed at Muslims, including women in public office from Congress to the mayor's seat in Montgomery in Somerset County.

The controversy also marks the second time this week that a public official in New Jersey has been linked to offensive online messages. Earlier this week, Toms River regional school board member Daniel Leonard sparked outrage over anti-Muslim messages on his personal Facebook page.

In one post, he wrote, "My life would be complete if she/they die" over a photograph of Tlaib. Another photo features Omar and the words "Terrorist ...100 percent."

A third post is an image of a bruised Barbie doll in a head scarf. "Sharia Barbie, Comes with Jihab [sic], bruises, & Quran, Stoning accessories available for additional purchase." The post was an apparent reference to the Islamic head scarf, actually known as a "hijab."

Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver called for Leonard to resign over "racist comments," Oliver said in a statement Wednesday. She also said the Department of Education was looking into the matter.

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for both officials to resign.

“Jerry Scanlan should be removed from his position as the county’s GOP chairman," said James Sues, executive director of CAIR-NJ. "New Jersey epitomizes a welcoming spirit of inclusivity that we are all proud of. Nobody wants to be dragged back to the dark ages of racism and bigotry that are characterized by these posts.”

The Sussex County Community College board of trustees is reviewing the matter and is examining the board's by-laws to see what action it can legally take, the college said in a statement.

"The board will respond to the public via the proper venue/outlet upon completion of its review," officials wrote. "The board will take whatever action it deems appropriate upon the completion of its review and report."