Carson calls for investigation into Muslim civic group

Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is criticizing President Barack Obama for allowing representatives of a Muslim civic group to attend the State of the Union address, saying their actions are "not pro-American."

Democratic lawmakers have invited two members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to attend Obama's final State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Speaking to CNN Tuesday morning, Carson said he has called for an investigation of the group, accusing them of having "done things that are clearly not pro-American."

"Let's go ahead and investigate the thing," he said. "Let's not be giving them access to the ability to further carry on what they call a civilization jihad, and to change us from a Judeo-Christian foundation to a Muslim foundation. We have got to be smarter than that."

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.