Jefferson City: A Missouri lawmaker who temporarily posted a Facebook comment expressing hope that President Donald Trump would be killed could face an effort to get her out of office.
Gov. Eric Greitens and Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson, both Republicans, said Friday that state senators should oust Democratic Senator Maria Chapelle-Nadal, who has continued to reject requests for resignation.
“If she does not resign, the Senate can vote to eliminate it. I think they should,” Greitens said in a written statement.
Numerous senior Republican and Democratic officials in Missouri have asked Chappelle-Nadal to step down after she wrote “I hope Trump is killed!” On his personal Facebook page on Thursday. He later deleted the post.
She made the remark in response to a post that suggested that Vice President Mike Pence would try to have Trump withdraw from office. Chappelle-Nadal, who is black, said he commented in frustration with the Republican president’s response to the recent white nationalist demonstration and violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, so the president said that “both sides” shared the blame.
Parson said he would ask the senators to remove Chappelle-Nadal from office if he does not resign before lawmakers meet on Sept. 13 to consider cancellation of the veto. Parson is the presiding officer of the Senate, although he can only vote to break ties and can not sponsor legislation or make motions for votes.
“It is no longer fit to serve our state,” he told a Capitol press conference on Friday.
The Missouri Constitution says that a legislator can be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of a chamber. But that has not happened in the last few decades, and it is not clear exactly how it would happen.
Senate President Pro Ron Ron Richard and majority leader Mike Kehoe, both Republicans, issued statements Friday that they hoped Chappelle-Nadal would relinquish his position voluntarily.
But “we are investigating the detailed steps involved in the expulsion process and we will be prepared to move forward when necessary,” Kehoe said.
Chappelle-Nadal told The Associated Press on Friday that he had met the previous day with the US Secret Service as part of his investigation into his comments on Trump.
“I let them know I had no intention of hurting anyone or trying to make other people harm anyone,” he said.
She reiterated on Friday that her Facebook entry “was totally improper,” but said she would not quit. She said she now believes she is being “attacked” by other officials, including the governor, because of political expediency or grudges.
“If the governor does not understand that what happened in Charlottesville is a trigger point for people who have been traumatized because of Ferguson, then he does not really have a close relationship with his residents,” he said.
Chappelle-Nadal was a prominent voice during the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the August 2014 death of police shooting Michael Brown. The 18-year-old black resident was disarmed when he physically fought with a white officer who shot him. A state grand jury declined to indict the officer, who was also dismissed by the United States Department of Justice. Chappelle-Nadal said he was among those affected by tear gas fired by police during the protests.
