JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Latest on a Missouri lawmaker who posted on Facebook that he hoped whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in Springfield is found and hanged (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
Missouri’s lieutenant governor says a lawmaker should face consequences after posting on Facebook that he hoped whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in southwestern Missouri is found and hanged.
Lt. Gov. Mike Parson in a Thursday statement stopped short of explicitly calling for fellow Republican Rep. Warren Love to step down.
Love posted on Facebook Wednesday that he hopes whoever put paint on a Springfield Confederate monument is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.” He’s since apologized.
Parson was among elected officials who said lawmakers should oust a Democratic state senator who posted and later deleted a comment on Facebook about hoping for President Donald Trump’s assassination.
Parson says it’s up to the House to decide whether to discipline Love, who on Thursday told AP he doesn’t plan to resign. Parson said he hopes House members will “follow the Senate’s lead and help ensure a return to civility in political discourse.”
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4:20 p.m.
A Missouri lawmaker says he won’t resign over a Facebook post he wrote saying he hoped whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in southwestern Missouri is found and hanged.
Republican Rep. Warren Love told The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s not planning on stepping down.
Love posted on Facebook Wednesday that he hoped whoever put paint on a Springfield Confederate monument is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.” He’s since apologized.
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday said Love should not be in office, and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is among prominent Democrats calling for Love to resign. The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus chairman says he should be ousted.
But Love says he’s received calls of support from some other House Republicans. And while GOP House Speaker Todd Richardson condemned his comment, Richardson didn’t explicitly ask that Love step down.
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3:25 p.m.
Missouri’s House speaker is not explicitly calling for the resignation of a fellow Republican House member who posted on Facebook that he hoped whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in southwestern Missouri is found and hanged.
Speaker Todd Richardson in a Thursday statement said he’s grateful that Rep. Warren Love apologized. Love posted on Facebook Wednesday that he hopes whoever put paint on a Springfield Confederate monument is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”
Richardson says residents of Missouri and the nation deserve elected officials “who elevate the level of discussion rather than engage in irresponsible rhetoric.”
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Thursday said Love should not be in office. Missouri Democratic leaders, including Sen. Claire McCaskill, have called on him to resign. Members of Missouri’s Legislative Black Caucus are among those describing Love’s post as a call for lynching.
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2:45 p.m.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says a fellow Republican state lawmaker should not be in office after posting on Facebook that he hoped whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in Springfield is found and hanged.
Greitens in response to Osceola Republican Rep. Warren Love’s comment said leaders in Missouri need to do better.
Love posted on Facebook Wednesday that he hopes whoever put paint on the Confederate monument is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”
Love apologized in a later post that he provided to The Associated Press. He told AP that he didn’t really mean that and says he thinks it’s terrible when someone vandalizes an object of remembrance.
Missouri Democratic leaders have called on Love to step down, including Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. Republican House Speaker Todd Richardson has not yet weighed in publicly.
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2 p.m.
The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus chairman says a Republican lawmaker called for a lynching in a Facebook post and should be ousted from office.
Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Alan Green on Thursday asked that House members formally reprimand Rep. Warren Love and remove him from office.
Love posted on Facebook that he hopes whoever vandalized a Confederate monument in southwestern Missouri Wednesday is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”
Love apologized in a later post that he provided to AP. He told The Associated Press that he didn’t really mean that and wasn’t calling for a lynching.
Green says Love’s statement was “un-American, repulsive and unbecoming” of a lawmaker.
Missouri Democratic leaders have asked him to step down, but Republican officials, including House Speaker Todd Richardson, have not yet publicly weighed in on whether Love should resign.
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10:15 a.m.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill says a Missouri lawmaker should resign after posting on Facebook that he hoped whoever put paint on a Confederate monument in Springfield is found and hanged.
McCaskill in a Thursday statement said Osceola Republican Rep. Warren Love’s comment was “unacceptable.”
Love posted on Facebook Wednesday that he hopes whoever vandalized the Confederate monument is “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”
Love apologized in a later post that he provided to AP. He later told The Associated Press that he didn’t really mean that and says he thinks it’s terrible when someone vandalizes an object of remembrance.
Other Missouri Democratic leaders have also called on Love to resign, but so far Republican leaders not have publicly asked him to step down.
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