The head of the Tarrant County Republican Party targeted a state House member with anti-Muslim remarks this week — only a month after Republicans called for his resignation over similar online behavior.
On X, Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French targeted Democratic state House Rep. Salman Bhojani, who represents parts of Arlington, Euless and Bedford.
In a series of posts over the last two days, French called Bhojani an “anti-American democrat”, said he was trying to “further jihad,” and called on federal officials to denaturalize and deport the lawmaker, who is originally from Pakistan.
I am officially calling on @RealTomHoman to denaturalize and deport Pakistan born, anti-American democrat, #txlege quorum breaking, @realDonaldTrump's agenda hating, redistricting blocking @SalmanBhojaniTX. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
— Bo French (@BoFrenchTX) August 11, 2025
Bhojani, who was among the first Muslim Americans elected to the Texas Legislature when he won a seat in 2022, said in a phone call with KERA News Tuesday that these comments on his religion and ethnicity are not new to him. He said he received similar messages when he ran for Euless city council in 2018.
“It’s really unfortunate that people are targeting me for my faith and my ethnicity, for the country that I was born in, for their own political gain,” Bhojani said.
French also published addresses that purportedly belong to Bhojani, who said his family is receiving threats amid the online backlash.
“They did not sign up to be targeted in this way,” he said. “I have a thick skin, so I can understand that there are people from all walks of life that have different opinions.”
KERA News reached out to French for comment. This story will be updated with any response.
French first called Bhojani out on X after the latter released a statement Aug. 3 announcing he was traveling to Pakistan for a family emergency.
French accused Bhojani of lying about his trip to Pakistan — which French referred to as “the same place Osama Bin Laden hid” — and alleged without evidence Bhojani was seen in Southlake. He also accused him of “lying to further jihad.”
Bhojani has since shared photos with The Texas Tribune of his passport stamps and plane tickets to Pakistan, with the dates matching his initial post. He also said on Twitter he’ll now join his other House colleagues in breaking quorum.
Several Democrats fled the state last week to block passage of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year.
.@SalmanBhojaniTX and the @TexasHDC have shared with me his boarding pass and passport.
— Renzo Downey (@RenzoDowney) August 12, 2025
Passport shows he arrived in Pakistan on Tues and left on Sun.
Boarding pass shows his scheduled departure from Karachi at 5:20pm on Sun and arrival in O'Hare at 8:15am today.#txlege https://t.co/BH0bFDSlUo pic.twitter.com/7ki1Rp1EjW
The GOP chairman’s posts continued, asking his followers if the law should be changed to “forbid foreign born people from holding any elected office.”
French also reposted tweets from Amy Mek, founder of the conservative outlet Rise Align Ignite Reclaim foundation, which has posted anti-Muslim content in the past.
Mek’s previous posts on the North Texas Muslim development EPIC City sparked backlash against the development, including from Gov. Greg Abbott. Mek accused the development of promoting Sharia law and spread other negative rhetoric about Islam. Soon after, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton announced investigations into the project.
As of Tuesday evening, French was still posting and sharing anti-Muslim tweets.
As party chair, French has been open about his goal to “make Tarrant County inhospitable for Democrats” by pulling the county GOP further to the right. In July 2024, French joined other Republican leaders onstage at a conference in Fort Worth urging attendees to resist a Democratic campaign to “rid the earth of the white race” and embrace Christian nationalism.
It’s also not the first time French has made controversial statements online. Republican leaders like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called for French’s removal in July after asking his followers in a now deleted post, “Who is a bigger threat to America?” Respondents had two options: “Jews” or “Muslims.”
“Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party,” Patrick posted on X. “Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas.”
French later apologized on X, saying “antisemitism has no place in the Republican Party.”
French’s Republican colleagues also condemned him last year over posts using several slurs against political opponents, some of which said French's behavior is part of a broader normalization of hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric in the party.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope at privera@kera.org.
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