WV Republican Delegate: I Didn’t Mean To Call For Hillary To Be Hanged

By
Darrell Lucus
-
Michael Folk on the campaign trail with Shelley Moore Capito in 2012 (image from Folk's Facebook)
Michael Folk on the campaign trail with Shelley Moore Capito in 2012 (image from Folk’s Facebook)

A Republican state delegate from West Virginia briefly became the talk of the political world when he called for Hillary Clinton to be tried and publicly hanged. Following a well-deserved firestorm of criticism, he now says he was only kidding.

Michael Folk represents the 63rd District in the West Virginia House of Delegates–the area in and around Martinsburg. It should come as no surprise that he buys into the usual right-wing shibboleth that Hillary is a hardened criminal. But on Friday night, Folk crossed the line from garden-variety Republican smear tactics to outright lunacy with this tweet.

2016-07-16 20.30.57Initially, this hardened Republican delegate didn’t back down. In response to a number of critical replies, Folk replied that his dander got up when he saw a video of Charles McCullough, the inspector general of the United States Intelligence Community, say that he couldn’t give Congress the classified emails that were reportedly on Hillary’s private email server without permission.

Folk argued that any ordinary person who did the same thing Hillary did would be arrested. He apparently forgot that FBI director James Comey and a number of career FBI investigators concluded that since there was no evidence Hillary intentionally transmitted classified information, there was no defensible reason to bring charges. Nor could Comey find any evidence that Hillary acted with gross negligence.

Moreover, unless I’m very wrong, Folk’s tweet seemed to be calling for Hillary to be hauled before a drumhead court-martial or kangaroo court that would have conducted proceedings with a predetermined verdict of guilty. That would be nothing more than giving legal sanction to what would have amounted to a lynching. Simply put, this suggestion is un-American.

Even some conservatives thought Folk had gone too far. One Twitter user told Folk that while “I’m no where near a Hillary supporter,” he also isn’t keen on “having a maniac hold office in my great state.”

The West Virginia Democratic Party made its feelings on Folk known loud and clear.

Just in case anyone thought the West Virginia Democrats were kidding, party chairwoman Belinda Biafore denounced Folk’s remarks as “concerning,” “disturbing,” and “baffling,” and declared that such ugly statements “should not be tolerated” from a state delegate. Biafore added that if Folk doesn’t resign, state house speaker Tim Armistead should discipline him.

By Saturday morning, word had gotten out that Folk was a pilot for United Airlines. The airline’s Facebook and Twitter feeds were flooded with demands for United to fire Folk immediately. By Saturday night, Folk realized he’d stepped in it. He told CNN that he really didn’t mean to call for Hillary’s lynching. While he believed Hillary should be “tried and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he said that his calls for her to be hanged were “the hyperbole in the statement,” and admitted they were “probably uncalled for.” Gee, Michael, ya think? Folk also walled off his Twitter account from public view.

Folk’s attempt to put out the fire may not be enough to save his day job. Only hours after Folk spoke to CNN, United let it be known that Folk’s comments were unacceptable.

Hopefully United will have the decency to fire him.

The Democratic Coalition Against Trump wants Folk out of his delegate seat as well. It has started a petition calling for Folk to resign. Sign here. There’s also a very good chance that Folk will have to answer at the ballot box for his comments if he doesn’t resign.  He’s facing a very credible Democratic challenger in the person of Berkeley County sheriff Kenny LeMaster. Folk’s district gave Barack Obama 43 percent of the vote in 2012, which makes it very winnable on paper.

One thing is certain–Folk needs to go. If he doesn’t resign or isn’t expelled, hopefully LeMaster can turn him out of office in November.

Darrell Lucus
Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR