WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill January 31, 2017 in Washington, DC.

SANTA FE, N.M.

A community organizer in New Mexico has come under fire after sending a critic a Facebook message that likened an African-American member of Congress to an ape.

Gloria Mendoza, a longtime community activist and organizer in Santa Fe, sent an adversary a Facebook message that included the image of U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California next to an image of an orangutan wearing a wig.