Deputy prison warden posts Facebook meme that compares Muslim children to garbage

MADISON - A top official in Wisconsin’s minimum-security prison system in recent weeks posted a string of Facebook memes that compared Muslim children to garbage, equated flying the LGBTQ rainbow flag with hoisting the Confederate flag and laughed off accusations of racism.    

In one, Deputy Warden Richard "Sam" Schneiter posted a photo of two full black garbage bags next to a Muslim woman and child in black burqas that covered their faces and bodies. “I saw her standing there and told her she had three beautiful children,” text pasted onto the photo says.

Another post contrasted the rainbow flag with the Confederate flag and included the words, “If they have the right to fly theirs, we Deserve the Right to Fly Ours.”

In an interview Wednesday, Schneiter said he posted the images to bring attention to messages that zip through the internet — including ones he disagrees with. 

"That’s not funny. If anything, it’s very offensive," Schneiter said of the post about a Muslim woman and child. "But this is the type of stuff you see on Facebook. But it starts discussion, which I try — which, I guess, that’s what I do."

He said in hindsight he should have written in his post that he considered the meme offensive. 

"I like discussion and I thought that's what I was promoting," he said.

Jay Graff of Waupun said he has had heated exchanges with Schneiter on Facebook for about six months, but wasn’t aware of his position at the Department of Corrections until a reporter told him about it.

“That’s scary,” Graff said. “He’s got no comprehension of race relations at all. I can’t believe he’s a deputy warden. He shouldn’t be there. He’s got no business being there, not with his radical views.

“With that position, you need to be open to all religious sects.”

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Clare Hendricks said agency officials were not aware of the posts until they were asked about them by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She said the department is investigating them.

"The Department of Corrections is committed to maintaining a work environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation," she said by email. "Any individuals who are found to have violated work rules will be held accountable.”

Schneiter is the deputy warden for the Wisconsin Correctional Center System, a network of 14 minimum security prisons that primarily house inmates just before they are released. He is paid about $93,000 a year.

He started working for the Department of Corrections in 1977 and worked his way up over the years to leadership positions, including as assistant administrator of the Division of Adult Institutions and warden of the maximum security prison in Boscobel.

He retired in 2011 but returned to the Department of Corrections as a deputy warden less than six months later. Schneiter, 65, said he plans to fully retire soon, perhaps within weeks.

Schneiter said his posts were being misinterpreted and he only wanted to engage in discussions on controversial issues. 

He said the post about the rainbow flag was in response to Gov. Tony Evers' decision to fly the flag over the Capitol in June to recognize Pride Month. Schneiter said he fears flying the rainbow flag could lead to a court decision that would allow the use of the Confederate flag, which he said he considers a symbol of racism. 

Schneiter said he voted for the Democratic governor but considers himself a conservative. His Facebook page includes posts supportive of President Donald Trump and critical of prominent Democrats. 

Another recent post by Schneiter features a meme from the conservative group Turning Point USA that plays off a series of ads for Dos Equis beer that says, “I don’t get called racist but when I do, I have just won an argument with a liberal.”

Schneiter said he sometimes has been falsely accused of being racist because of his views on immigration. 

"I have a view that I believe we have to do something about immigration and so I've been told, 'Well, you're racist if you don't believe in open borders.' Well, I disagree I'm a racist."

He made many of the posts in June, in the weeks before Trump drew headlines for tweets telling four liberal congresswomen they should “go back” to the "totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." Three of them were born in the United States and all of them are U.S. citizens.

The U.S. House condemned Trump’s comments as racist in a resolution that passed Tuesday largely on party lines.

Some of Schneiter’s posts focus on race and religion.

One features a woman wearing a head covering beneath the words, “We must have pork-free menus or we’ll leave the U.S.” Below the image is a flag made out of bacon and the phrase, “Bacon America Great Again.”

The post about the Muslim woman and child claims that mis-identifying bags of garbage for children was “an honest mistake.” On Wednesday, Schneiter called that meme disgusting.

"I've posted stuff like that to invite conversation," Schneiter said. "You'll never see me on any of that stuff that I post, that type of stuff, where I say, 'Yeah, I think it's funny' or 'I agree with this.' You'll never find that."

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes criticized Schneiter on Twitter over the comparison of Muslims to garbage, writing that Schneiter is the one who "has to be taken out."

"Too much of our nation’s system of corrections is based on dehumanization," Barnes tweeted. "To add bigotry to the mix is dangerous and cannot be tolerated."

Schneiter's posts can be viewed by about 1,200 people who are listed as his Facebook friends. Screenshots of some posts were provided to the Journal Sentinel and people who had access to them confirmed their accuracy. 

Howard Schweber, an associate professor of political science and legal studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said state officials likely would have the ability to discipline Schneiter if they wanted.

"If they chose to do so, I don't think that the First Amendment gives this guy very strong protections given the way free-speech rights of government employees have been curtailed by our courts in the past," Schweber said.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.