The Montgomery County police department is drawing criticism for an Easter Sunday social media post that focused on Christianity, with local commenters saying it is an inappropriate message from a public agency.
On Sunday morning, the department posted a message on X that begins with the words “He has risen!”, a reference to Jesus Christ, and continuing, “Wishing everyone celebrating the #Easter holiday a blessed day filled with renewed hope, faith, love and joy.”
“I can’t be the only one seriously weirded out by this,” John Zittrauer, a Silver Spring resident who ran unsuccessfully for the District 4 seat of the County Council in 2022, wrote in a Sunday post on X, linking to the Easter message.
Wheaton resident Brigid Howe, a local advocate for road safety, housing and education, also posted on X on Sunday, writing that she expects the department to post similarly religious messages for the upcoming Passover holiday and others observed by those who practice other religions.
“I hope that when they post a Pesach message in a few weeks they will be asking the four questions or something else overtly religious vs just acknowledging the day. And I will also pay attention to what they post for Eid Al-Fitr next week,” she wrote.
There were more than 25 comments on the post, and some commenters said they appreciated the department’s message.
Esther Wells, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, wrote on Sunday: “He is not here, He is risen! Amen. Thank you MCPD for your service to our Community. I pray for the safety of all our Law Enforcement Officers today, & everyday. We know you will be keeping all houses of worship safe as we celebrate the holiest day for Christians. God bless you!”
When asked Monday to comment on the religious nature of Sunday’s post, Montgomery County police spokesperson Shiera Goff referred a MoCo360 reporter to the department’s previous posts celebrating other holidays, saying they were of a similar nature.
But a check of those for other holidays such as Christmas, Passover and Ramadan did not reveal any as overtly religious as Sunday’s Easter post.
County resident Patrick Lahr commented directly Monday on the post, saying “This is beyond disappointing, but completely on brand for your holiday posts habits.” He added that the vast majority of the police department’s holiday posts commemorate Christian holidays, leaving out major Jewish and Muslim holidays.
Lahr also tagged Police Chief Marcus Jones’ account in a comment, saying “[I’m] truly disappointed in your use of public funds to proselytize for your religion of choice. Not one of your org’s other 32 religious holiday posts has such an overt call to their message.”
Matthew Sadler, a pedestrian safety advocate in Silver Spring, also chimed in on Sunday, noting in his comment that “The US is a secular republic. This is wildly inappropriate.”