A police chief is under fire after calling for “death to all” Democrats following President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
Lang Holland, the chief of police in the Arkansas town of Marshall, made the remarks over the weekend on the alternative social media site Parler.
“Death to all Marxist Democrats,” Holland wrote to another user. “Take no prisoners leave no survivors!!”
The comment was just one of several shared on Twitter by KATV reporter Viktoria Capek, in which Holland encouraged violence.
“Do not forget what these Marxist Democrat bastards have tried to do,” Holland said. “When you see one in public get in their face do not give them any peace. Throw water on them at restaurants. Push them off sidewalks. Never let them forget they are traitors and have no right to live in this Republic after what they have done.”
After Holland’s posts began gaining attention online, a new Parler account popped up from someone claiming to be the “the real chief” while asserting that the account making the threats was fake.
KATV states that it reached out to the Marshall Police Department’s Facebook account to inquire about the remarks after the two Parler accounts went dormant. An individual read the message, KATV said, and then promptly deleted the Facebook account as well.
Marshall Mayor Kevin Elliott has since come forward to confirm that the controversial statements were in fact made by Holland and condemned the police chief in the process.
“The Marshall community does not in any way support or condone bullying or threats of violence to anyone of any political persuasion,” Elliott said in a statement. “We are a welcoming community that is humbly working to build a bright future for ALL our citizens.”
In response to the backlash, Holland ultimately decided to resign from his position.
Holland was far from the only one calling for violence on Parler following President Donald Tump’s election loss. After the leader of the right-wing group Proud Boys said that members would be “rolling out,” commenters responded by calling for violence as well.
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