WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — DC Council member Trayon White is not backing down after allegedly donating to an event where anti-Semitic comments were made.
The donation was hundreds of dollars to a Nation of Islam (NOI) event.
The filings, reported by the Washington Post, revealed White donated $500 to the event in January where NOI Leader Louis Farrakhan called powerful Jews his enemy.
“People say controversial stuff all of the time, and I don't agree with the things some people say,” White told WUSA9. “Including people in my family, including Louis Farrakhan. The reality is these brothers are on the front-line fighting for some of the same causes I fight for.”
White explained men from the NOI are often one of a few groups helping an underserved community in Southeast DC.
However, the Post reported that the donated money came from White’s “constituent services account.”
Constituent services funds are private monies council members raise for community causes.
Under campaign finance law, the funds are only supposed to be used to benefit DC residents.
Three of White’s fellow lawmakers are calling for him to be reprimanded, and a group called Jews United for Justice called the payment unacceptable.
The Jewish advocacy groups said in a statement it wanted White to request the money back, but the councilman would not say if he was willing to do that.
This latest news comes on the heels of a controversial video where White accused a wealthy Jewish family of controlling the weather.
He since apologized and went on a tour with his staff to the Holocaust Museum.
“I wanted to learn. You know? Because I think that ignorance is not an excuse,” White explained
The Washington Post reported White left the tour early.
White admitted to WUSA9 he left the guided tour early but stayed until his staff finished.
He explained his reason for leaving the tour was because a reporter from the Washington Post showed up to take notes on everything he was saying and doing.
White said he requested that no media be there present for the tour because it was inappropriate.
“I didn't feel comfortable doing a tour like that and seeing what I saw and experienced what I'm feeling emotionally while a reporter is taken notes,” White said.
The DC Office of Campaign Finance is reviewing White’s donation to the NOI to see if any law was broken.
White said he has no plans of stepping down.
“If you going to come for me, you might as well come take me out because I’m not bowing down. I’m not laying down,” he said.
