Missouri state rep says person who vandalized Confederate statue should be 'hung from a tall tree'

By Rebecca Savransky - 08/31/17 07:59 AM EDT
 
Missouri state rep says person who vandalized Confederate statue should be 'hung from a tall tree'
© Getty Images

A Missouri state representative said in a Facebook post he hoped the person who vandalized a Confederate statue would be "hung from a tall tree."

State Rep. Warren Love (R) shared an article to Facebook, titled "Vandal throws paint on Confederate statue," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The article addressed the recent vandalism of a Confederate monument in Springfield National Cemetery.

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"This is totally against the law," Love wrote in the post. "I hope they are found & hung from a tall tree with a long rope."

Love faced criticism for his post Wednesday, with the chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party calling for him to resign.

“This is a call for lynching by a sitting State Representative,” Stephen Webber tweeted. "Calls for poltical violence are unacceptable. He needs to resign.”

Love denied he was calling for a lynching when contacted by the newspaper.
 
“That was an exaggerated statement that, you know, a lot of times is used in the western world when somebody does a crime or commits theft," he said.
 
"That’s just a western term and I’m very much a western man. … You know, I wear a coat. You know, I dress western. And, you know, I’m the cowboy of the Capitol."
 
He added that it's "disturbing" to see "that somebody would be a low-life enough to" desecrate the monument.
 
President Trump faced backlash earlier this month for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va. The president said there was "blame on both sides" for the deadly violence, which erupted between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters at a "Unite the Right" rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue in the city.
 
During an Arizona rally last week, Trump defended his comments and argued that he did condemn hate groups.
 
The comments resulted in a nationwide focus on racism and white supremacy.