DENVER — The co-chair of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Colorado Springs chapter has resigned after announcing on Facebook that he would “shoot” supporters of Republican Donald Trump before election day.
The ACLU of Colorado said in a Friday post that it had accepted Loring Wirbel’s resignation as chapter representative to the state board after an outcry over a Monday post on his Facebook page.
The post, which has since been removed, said: “The thing is, we have to really reach out to those who might consider voting for trump and say, ’this is Goebbels. This is the final solution. If you are voting for him I will have to shoot you before election day.’”
He continued, “They’re not going to listen to reason, so when justice is gone, there’s always force, as Laurie would say,” according to a screenshot.
Mr. Wirbel told the Colorado Springs Gazette that the post “was intended totally as a joke” and that the comment was being taken “out of context,” but it quickly blew up on conservative social media.
“Colorado liberals are ignoring their new mantra that ’words matter’ and are threatening to kill Republicans,” said Colorado Peak Politics in a Friday post.
In its statement, the ACLU of Colorado described Mr. Wirbel as a “regional volunteer,” adding that posts by “members, supporters and volunteers on their own personal social media sites should not be mistaken for endorsements or official statements of the ACLU of Colorado.”
His post came days before a Fountain woman was arrested for threatening Republicans in a call to Planned Parenthood, saying, “It is tempting to walk into a Republican Party meeting with her dead husband’s gun and just start shooting people,” according to police.
Left-of-center groups like ProgressNow-Colorado launched a campaign last week against “incendiary rhetoric” by Republicans in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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