House Speaker, Republican Party react to Rep.’s hanging comment
Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson is weighing into the controversy surrounding a social media post made by a state lawmaker.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Representative Warren Love, R-Osceola, said he hoped the person who vandalized a Confederate monument in Springfield is “found and hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”
Rep. Love quickly deleted the comment and has since apologized.
Speaker Richardson released a statement Thursday afternoon saying, “The people of this state and this nation deserve public servants who elevate the level of discussion rather than engage in irresponsible rhetoric. The comments made on social media by Representative Love are unacceptable. I am grateful that he has apologized for the extremely poor decision he made to post them. Public servants should not and cannot participate in the kind of speech that could motivate others to do harm.”
The comments come within two weeks of Democratic State Senator Marie Chappelle-Nadal posting that she hoped someone would assassinate President Donald Trump. She has also deleted the statement and apologized. Many Republicans and some Democrats have called for Chappelle-Nadal’s resignation.
On Thursday evening, Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves also spoke against Love’s words.
In a statement, Graves said, “We condemn Rep. Love’s comments just as we condemned Sen. Chappelle-Nadal’s recent comments, and any other acts or expressions that condone violence in any way. Those in our state leadership should be leading the conversation on unity, not undermining it. We need to do better.”
