CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire Democratic state representative Wednesday defended comments she made on Twitter that men telling her to calm down make her homicidal and that white, Christian men represent a terrorist problem.
Rep. Sherry Frost of Dover was the focus of a public hearing by a legislative committee tasked with reviewing comments she made online earlier this year that some colleagues found offensive. The House voted last week to open inquiries into both Frost and Republican Rep. Robert Fisher of Laconia, the recently exposed creator of a misogynistic online forum.
Democrats have decried Frost’s inclusion in the probe as unfairly equating her comments with Fisher’s. Frost said she is different than Fisher because she’s attached her name to every remark, while he used an anonymous online username. The committee could recommend reprimanding, censuring, expelling or taking no action against either lawmaker.
“My speech is not always pretty or polite but I have the right to express myself in ways that I feel best relay what I witness and experience,” Frost told the committee.
She defended the two comments that have drawn the most ire, pointing to many terrorist actions by white men, including the Oklahoma City bombing. She labeled her Tweet about being homicidal as hyperbole due to a difficult week in the Legislature.
A number of representatives testified that Frost’s language is unacceptable. The legislative committee will reconvene next week and provide a recommendation to the full House by June 1.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.