Mississippi Lawmaker Must Resign for 'Lynching' Comments!

Following the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans, Republican state Rep. Karl Oliver of Mississippi said in a Facebook post that Louisiana leaders should be lynched for this decision.

Oliver has since apologized and removed the distasteful post, but that is NOT enough.

Please join in demanding that Rep. Karl Oliver resign and donate his salary to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Lynching was commonly used in southern states, like Mississippi, to intimidate and kill Black Americans. In fact, Oliver represents a district that includes the town of Money, where black teenager Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched in 1955.

Having an elected official invoke such a racist, violent part of American history and advocate its use is not just inappropriate; it’s also a crime. As New Orleans City Councilman James A. Gray pointed out, calling for a lynching “is inciting the murder of American citizens, and that’s a crime that ought to be prosecuted.”

Rep. Karl Oliver is unfit to hold office and must resign now.

On top of that, he should prove that he understands the severity of his comments and that he is truly sorry by donating his salary to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S.