NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state Sen. Bill Ketron has invited controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders to the Republican National Convention.
Wilders tweeted late Sunday that he had arrived in Cleveland. His tweet included a photo of a guest pass from the Tennessee Republican Party.
Ketron, of Murfreesboro, told The Tennessean the populist anti-Islam and Euro-skeptic lawmaker is his friend.
Wilders has supported a ban on immigrants from Islamic countries to the Netherlands, similar to the idea presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump has floated of temporarily banning foreign Muslims from entering the U.S.
Ketron has sponsored several Tennessee bills aimed at Islam.
The invitation was criticized by Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who said, "The Republican Party should not be importing foreign anti-Muslim bigots."