Mississippi politician sorry he called for lynching after Confederate statue’s removal

A Mississippi state lawmaker who called for the lynching of Louisiana officials for removing pro-slavery era monuments apologized on Monday after his comments sparked a firestorm of criticism.

Republican Representative Karl Oliver had taken to Facebook on Saturday to criticize the removal of monuments in New Orleans that city leaders deemed racially offensive. The last of the four statues – one of Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee – was taken down on Friday.

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Oliver, a funeral home director from Winona in his first term in the legislature, said on Monday he had embarrassed fellow legislators and the state and that his choice of words was inappropriate.

“In an effort to express my passion for preserving all historical monuments, I acknowledge the word ‘lynched’ was wrong. I am very sorry,” he said in an emailed statement. Oliver did not respond to requests for an interview.

In setting off the controversy with his Facebook post, Oliver had said the monuments had been erected in the “memory of our family and fellow Southern Americans” and compared those taking them down them to Nazis.

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If those behind the removals in New Orleans want to “burn books or destroy historical monuments of OUR HISTORY, they should be LYNCHED!” Oliver wrote in a Facebook post, which has since been removed.

Removal of the monuments in New Orleans provoked clashes between opponents and supporters, and workers wore body armor and face coverings to shield their identities.

Republicans and Democrats in Mississippi issued statements condemning Oliver, with Republican Governor Phil Bryant saying his “language is unacceptable and has no place in civil discourse.” The state Democratic Party called it “inflammatory.”

House of Representatives Speaker Philip Gunn had called on Oliver to apologize, saying his views did not reflect those of the Republican Party or the House and its leadership.

Gunn has supported removing the Confederate battle emblem from Mississippi’s flag but has said he cannot get enough support from Republican House lawmakers.

The Confederacy was made up of states that attempted to maintain slavery in the South and seceded from the United States, triggering the Civil War of 1861 to 1865.

Oliver’s legislative district and Mississippi in general have a history of lynching involving African-Americans. From 1877 to 1950, 4,075 blacks were lynched in 12 Southern states, with Mississippi leading the states at 614, according a report by the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.

Carroll and Leflore counties in Oliver’s district were among the top 25 in the nation for lynchings, the group said.