Marjorie Taylor Greene used Martin Luther King Day on Monday to claim that there is a “new segregation” for the unvaccinated against Covid-19, comparing their struggles to historic racism against Black people in America.

       In a post on Gettr, the Georgia Republican equated the segregation faced by Black Americans to the strict vaccine mandates in the US.

       “Rev Martin Luther King Jr spoke of promises given to us that all men and women are guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” she wrote. “Thanks to the hard work of Rev MLK Jr and others, growing up in Georgia, I’ve seen the beautiful fruit that blossomed from the Civil Rights Era, where segregation ended & equality began.”

       “Today, I believe we are seeing a new segregation and discrimination beginning, wrongfully forced upon unvaccinated Americans by the tyrants of the Democrat Party,” Ms Greene said.

       She added: “Inspired by the courage of Giants who fought for freedoms in the past, I will always tirelessly work to defend the Constitution and guaranteed freedoms for ALL Americans. Our freedoms come from our Almighty God, and we must not let any man take them away.”

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       Some US cities have implemented vaccine mandate requirements for all to enter public places. The Joe Biden administration has also implemented a vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers.

       The US Supreme Court last week said it would permit a separate mandate for healthcare workers but delivered a major blow to the administration by blocking the federal vaccine-or-test requirement for large companies.

       These vaccine mandates have received a major backlash from conservative leaders. Ms Greene has been at the forefront of this criticism and has alleged that vaccine mandates are an infringement of her rights.

       She has previously also compared unvaccinated people to those who faced oppression during the Holocaust.

       “Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star,” she said last May. “Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.” The Republican later apologised.

       Her latest statement came amid tributes from several American leaders to Martin Luther King Jr. Each year Americans celebrate the life of the US civil rights movement’s best-known spokesman and leader on this day.

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       MLK Day is a paid federal holiday in the US, meaning civil servants and many school pupils are given the day off. The day is observed on the third Monday of January each year, the day closest to his birthday on 15 January. This year, it was held on 17 January.

       The movement pioneered by King pressured the American government to end legalised segregation in the United States.