Homeland Security Official Quits After Remarks Surface

The Department of Homeland Security's head of community outreach has quit over comments deeply offensive to more than one community. In recordings of past talk radio appearances unearthed by CNN, the Rev. Jamie Johnson made incendiary comments about black people and Islam, saying the religion had contributed nothing in 1,500 years apart from "oil and dead bodies." Asked why he felt some black people were anti-Semitic, Johnson, speaking on Accent Radio Network's conservative "The Right Balance" show, said black people had "turned America's major cities into slums because of laziness, drug use, and sexual promiscuity."

Johnson, who became head of Homeland Security's Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in April, made the remarks in 2008, the Washington Post reports. "I regret the manner in which those thoughts were expressed in the past, but can say unequivocally that they do not represent my views personally or professionally," Johnson said in a statement Thursday. DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton said the department has accepted his resignation. The remarks "clearly do not reflect the values of DHS and the administration," said Houlton, thanking Johnson for his work in recent months assisting disaster victims and the interfaith community. (More Department of Homeland Security stories.)