A West Virginia delegate is facing termination by his employer and ouster from office after calling for Hillary Clinton to be tried and publicly executed.
Michael Folk, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, posted a tweet on Friday stating that Hillary Clinton should be “hung on the Mall in Washington, DC.”
Folk subsequently took down the post and restricted viewing of his posts to confirmed friends on Twitter.
However, several people on Twitter had already captured screenshots, such as Josh Charles:
For those asking, here's the screenshot of @MichaelFolk34's now deleted tweet. Here you go: cc: @united pic.twitter.com/UBvBYQSTvr
— Josh Charles (@MrJoshCharles) July 17, 2016
Folk spoke with CBS affiliate WOWK-TV on Saturday, telling them his tweet was in response to the FBI’s recent decision not to charge Clinton for her use of a private email server.
According to WOWK-TV, “Folk says that he never thought the social backlash that has occurred would accumulate to the level that has been seen on his account. He says that in hindsight, he would certainly not have used the latter part of his tweet, and instead continue to recommend that Clinton be pursued in being charged in the email scandal.”
The West Virginia Democratic Party (WVDP) is recommending that Folk resign.
WVDP Chair Belinda Biafore stated that:
Not only are Delegate Folk’s words concerning, they are disturbing. The mention of hanging and implication of murder should never, ever be acceptable. To think that a person in a leadership position in our state can say these types of things is baffling and should not be tolerated. Folk’s actions should deem him as unfit to serve and Speaker Tim Armstead should take action if Folk doesn’t resign. It makes me very worrisome for the people of West Virginia that someone who can feel this type of hate and use this type of rhetoric is in any position of power.
The WVDP issued the following statement according to WOWK-TV:
Delegate Folk should be held to high standards and should not get away with such careless and hateful rhetoric. Such rhetoric has been on the rise within the Republican Party on a state and national level and has become increasingly dangerous.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that “United Airlines, which employs Folk as a commercial pilot, tweeted that they are looking into the situation.”
United Airlines responded to a tweet asking about it. “We are definitely aware, and are investigating this, Brian, Thanks for letting us know.”
CBS News reports that: United Airlines spokesperson Mary Clark stated that: “We are appalled by comments advocating harm to any person. They do not represent United Airlines and we are looking into the matter further.”
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