State Sen. Adam Ebbin, a Democrat, has lashed out at controversial comments posted on Facebook by the secretary of the Republican Party of Virginia this week, calling for his resignation. The posting by Bob FitzSimmons, treasurer of the GOP state organization and deputy clerk of the circuit court for Prince William County, sharply criticized comments by President Obama on the contribution of Muslims to American history.

Ebbin issued a statement saying, “Virginia is the birthplace of the Statute of Religious Freedoms and all our public officials and political party officers should know better than to question the contributions of members of any faith to America. Mr. FitzSimmonds should immediately resign his position with the Republican Party. I am embarrassed that he is a public employee as well. Is he responsible for recruiting and welcoming jurors from the diverse population of Prince William County? Not a good ambassador by any stretch of the imagination.”