MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Members of the Tennessee Congressional Black Caucus are outraged over a social media post shared on Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s Facebook page, and members are promising an investigation into the original post.
They say the offensive post, which has since been taken down, puts McNally’s fellow general assembly members at risk.
“I’m still having trouble believing that he would endorse that type of rhetoric, which incites violence. We don’t have to guess whether it does,” said Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis), chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus.
The post reportedly showed an image of man wearing military apparel and holding a rifle, with the words “Warning to BLM & Antifa. Once you’ve managed to defund the police, there’s nobody protecting you from us. Remember that.”
Hardaway called the post unacceptable.
“He’s a heartbeat away from being governor,” Hardaway said. “If something happened to Gov. Lee he would be governor. He certainly owes the state an explanation.”
A statement issued by McNally’s office says, in part:
“Anyone who knows Lt. Governor McNally understands he has no hate in his heart and would never threaten violence against anyone… Lt. Governor McNally opposes the anti-police ideology inherent with the BLM and Antifa movements. When it was pointed out the meme could be interpreted as an implicit threat, it was taken down.”
Caucus member Sen. Brenda Gilmore spoke with McNally and expressed her concerns over the post.
“Lt. Governor McNally said he would try to be more sensitive in the future. That was not an offer of apology, I will say that, but he did say he would try to be more sensitive in the future regarding such posts,” Gilmore said.
Black caucus members also expressed their opposition to a new law making it a felony for protestors to camp out overnight on state property.
