Lawmaker apologizes for saying La. leaders should be 'lynched' for removing Confederate monuments

State Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, has issued an apology for using the word "lynched" after he posted on Facebook that Louisiana leaders removing Confederate monuments should be lynched, in capital letters, and compared their actions to Nazis.

"I, first and foremost, wish to extend this apology for any embarrassment I have caused to both my colleagues and fellow Mississippians," Oliver said in a written response. "In an effort to express my passion for preserving all historical monuments, I acknowledge the word 'lynched' was wrong. I am very sorry. It is in no way, ever, an appropriate term. I deeply regret that I chose this word, and I do not condone the actions I referenced, nor do I believe them in my heart. I freely admit my choice of words was horribly wrong, and I humbly ask your forgiveness."

Beyond his written apology, Oliver declined further statement by phone.

Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn, who has advocated removing the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, said Oliver's statements were "just not acceptable," and stripped Oliver of his vice chairmanship of the House Forestry Committee.

The last of four Confederate-era monuments in New Orleans was removed late Thursday and early Friday. The 16-foot-tall bronze statue of Robert E. Lee in New Orleans was removed from its perch high above St. Charles Avenue where the Confederate general had stood watch for 133 years.

More:Rep. Karl Oliver to Mississippi voter: 'I could care less'

The Republican representative of District 46 wrote the following in a Facebook post:

The destruction of these monuments, erected in the loving memory of our family and fellow Southern Americans, is both heinous and horrific. If the, and I use this term extremely loosely, "leadership" of Louisiana wishes to, in a Nazi-ish fashion, burn books or destroy historical monuments of OUR HISTORY, they should be LYNCHED! Let it be known, I will do all in my power to prevent this from happening in our State.

Oliver, a first-term representative who's mostly been a quiet, back-bencher in the Legislature, is receiving blowback from both sides of the aisle in Mississippi and national attention from his statements.

"Rep. Oliver's language is unacceptable and has no place in civil discourse," Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement.

Gunn, who has supported removal of the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag, but said he cannot get enough support from his GOP House caucus, said in a written statement Monday morning, "I condemn the comments recently posted on Facebook by Rep. Karl Oliver. They do not reflect the views of the Republican Party, the leadership of the House of Representatives or the House as a whole. Using the word lynched is inappropriate and offensive. We call on Rep. Oliver to apologize."

Later, at a Stennis Capitol press corps luncheon he was previously scheduled to keynote, Gunn announced he was removing Oliver from his vice chairmanship.

"I have searched for the adjectives to describe just how offended — bad, improper, inappropriate — those comments were, and the words 'I condemn them' are the strongest I could come up with," Gunn said. "There is no place for that. There is no proper venue for that. That's just not acceptable."

Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes of Gulfport, chairwoman of the state Legislative Black Caucus, in a written statement said an apology from Oliver "is not enough."

“Although lynching may not be the mindset of all the members of the Legislature, the support for maintaining Confederate monuments, the state flag, etc. exemplifies there is a mindset of continuing the daunting negative symbolism of Mississippi’s past," Williams-Barnes said. "Therefore, changing the flag is a direct action of moving towards the right direction as a collective body ...  If these comments are truly not the mindset of the body, then change the flag!”

Sen. Sollie B. Norwood, D-Jackson, said he believes Oliver meant what he originally posted and "I think it's irresponsible for him to apologize for something he meant." 

"I think if the leadership in Mississippi state government wants to be responsible, they should join the call for Rep. Oliver's resignation," Norwood said.

Prior to these inflammatory statements, Oliver's only other moment in the spotlight in the Legislature and media came from his written response to a Gulfport woman's concerns over state public education, foster care and other funding that "I could care less" about her concerns. He also recommended the Gulfport resident move back to her native Illinois.

Oliver is president and director of Oliver Funeral Home of Winona.

State Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef on Monday called for Oliver to "quickly clear up his remarks to make his point without these inappropriate comments."

"Rep. Oliver's comments were offensive, do not represent the Mississippi Republican Party and have no place in our public discourse," Nosef said.

House and Senate Democratic caucus chairmen Rep. David Baria and Sen. Bill Stone issued a joint statement calling Oliver's remarks "repugnant."

"The use of such inflammatory rhetoric in the context of public discourse is repugnant and does damage to the considerable advances that have been made in healing the wounds caused by state-supported racism of the past," the statement said. "In 2017, no elected official in the state of Mississippi should be speaking in this manner regardless of any strongly held opinions concerning Confederate statues."

Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, said he is outraged "that a public official in 2017 would, with an obvious conviction and clear conscience, call for and promote one of the most cruel, vicious and wicked acts in American history."

Oliver took office in 2016 and represents parts of Carroll, Grenada, Leflore, Montgomery and Webster counties. His district, according to Census and other data, has an African-American population of 35.4 percent, and a black voting-age population of 30 percent.