Women's March founder calls on current leaders to withdraw

The woman who first called for a women's march after the election of President Trump now calls on the group's current leaders to step down – calling them anti-Semitic and anti-gay.

Teresa Shook, a retired Hawaii-based lawyer, summoned Women's March Board members Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez in a Facebook post on Monday morning.

"In opposition to our principles of unity, they allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful and racist rhetoric to be part of the platform by refusing to separate from groups that embrace these racist and hateful beliefs, "writes Shook. co-chairs of the March of Women.

Shook was reportedly the first woman to call for a women's march following the election of President Trump in November 2016. The protests attracted hundreds of thousands of people to US cities the day after Trump's inauguration.

But accusations of anti-Semitism were filed against Shook's co-organizers when Tamika Mallory was filmed at a Nation of Islam event, in which Louis Farrakhan declared that "the mighty Jew is my enemy".

Women's March Inc. board members – including Sarsour, Perez and Bland – first defended Mallory.

Mallory also issued a statement following criticism, saying she was surprised by people who questioned her beliefs.

"Where are my people, it's where I have to be too," Mallory wrote in his statement. "I'm going to difficult places."

In response to Shook's Facebook message, the co-chairs drafted their own statement, saying that his criticisms had been formulated "irresponsibly" – recognizing that they had made mistakes.

"We are imperfect. We do not know everything and we hurt, "wrote the four women on the Women's March Facebook page. "We have sometimes reacted badly. But we are committed to learning. We will continue to work on the good and the bad, the impacts and harms – of building an intersectional movement that our daughters and daughters of our daughters can be proud of. "

Actress Alyssa Milano, who allegedly helped the #MeToo movement to become viral, also criticized leaders of the March for Women for not having disavowed Mallory's association with Farrakhan.

"Whenever there is bigotry or anti-Semitism in this regard, it must be called and treated," Milano told The Advocate at the end of October. "I'm disappointed by the leadership of the March of Women for not doing it properly."

Milano added that she would not speak at the next Women's March if she asked him.