Mayor responds amid calls for DCPS school board member to resign over controversial social media post about Islam
News 4 Jax | By: Travis Gibson and Francine Frazier | November 3, 2026
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan weighed in Tuesday as Duval County School Board member Anthony Ricardo continued to face backlash over a controversial social media post about Islam that groups claim he shared on his personal Facebook page.
Ricardo, who represents District 1, is facing calls to resign after he apparently reshared a reshare of the post, which said “Islam is not a religion,” calling it “a political cult masquerading as a faith.”
The original post appears to be an infographic created by Americans Against Islamification.
Ricardo’s reshare, which was captured in a screenshot that was shared by others, has since been removed from his personal Facebook page.
Several groups have publicly denounced Ricardo, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR Florida), the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida and OneJax, a Jacksonville nonprofit focused on interfaith programs.
OneJax posted a lengthy statement on Monday, saying “religious bigotry has no place in public education.”
City Council member Jimmy Peluso echoed the call for Ricardo to resign, saying, “This is not about his right to speak; it is about his ability to lead and to inspire a supportive and safe learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff.”
Duval County Public Schools shares some demographic data broken down by district, but it does not include information about religious affiliations.
The district responded to our request for comment with the following statement:
