Marjorie Taylor Greene Uses MLK Day to Announce 'A New Segregation' for the Unvaccinated

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene used MLK Day to claim there is a "new segregation" for people who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus.

Politicians across the United States honored the work of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. But Greene, a Georgia Republican, appeared to equate the segregation faced by Black Americans to vaccine requirements in a Gettr post.

"Thanks to the hard work of Rev MLK Jr. and others, growing up in Georgia, I've seen the beautiful fruit that blossomed from the Civil Rights Era, where segregation ended & equality began," she wrote. "Today, I believe we are seeing a new segregation and discrimination beginning, wrongfully forced upon unvaccinated Americans by the tyrants of the Democrat Party."

She added: "Our freedoms come from our Almighty God, and we must not let any man take them away."

Some cities across the United States have implemented vaccine requirements to enter some public places, including restaurants and gyms, in an attempt to convince people to take the vaccine, which has proven to prevent serious illness from the virus. The Biden administration also implemented a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. But the Supreme Court last week blocked a further-reaching federal requirement for large companies to mandate vaccines.

But the vaccine guidelines have sparked pushback from many, including Greene, who view them as an infringement on their rights.

Greene is not the first high-profile individual to invoke King's name while defending unvaccinated people. Football player Aaron Rodgers said while appearing on the Pat McAfee Show last November: "The great MLK said you have a moral obligation to object to unjust rules and rules that make no sense."

Rodgers received backlash for the remark. In a blog post for MSNBC, writer Ja'han Jones wrote: "What cowardly secrecy from a man who fashions himself an heir to King's activism. Rodgers may be hellbent on tarnishing his own legendary legacy, but he's better off letting King's be."

Greene, however, received criticism for comparing unvaccinated people to groups who faced historical oppression including Jewish people during the Holocaust.

"Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star," Greene tweeted last May. "Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable."

She later apologized, acknowledging there is "no comparison" between the atrocities faced during the Holocaust and vaccine guidelines.

A spokesperson for Greene's office referred to her post when reached for comment by Newsweek on Monday.