GOP Leader Forced to Resign After Tweeting "It's Time for Another Kent State"

 Secretary of the Marquette County Republican Party in Michigan, Dan  Adamini, made a series of social media posts implying that  protesters, like the ones at a university in California last week,  should be shot as they were during the Kent State Massacre. 

In 1970, the  Ohio National Guard killed four students and injured nine others after  they were ordered to use live ammunition during protests against the  Vietnam War at Ohio’s Kent State University.    Last week, Adamini composed a tweet in response to protests at the University of California-Berkley that shut down plans for a Breitbart editor to speak on campus. The tweet read:  

“Violent protesters who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery.” 

 Adamini then gave his post more thought and  reworded it for Facebook. His second post still called for violence and  evoked the Kent State shootings.
 

 “The violent protests at our universities  certainly indicate Portage acacian at the lower level. I’m thinking  another Kent State might be the only solution. Protest stopped after  only one death. They do it because they know there are no consequences  yet,” Adamini said.
   

In an interview with Free Press,  Adamini apologized, saying he was actually intending to stop violence  with his posts rather than incite it. In other words, Adamini was trying  to make threats so protesters would submit out of fear of being shot,  as students have been in the past.  

 “It was stupid, it was poorly done. But my  goal was to stop the violence by protesters, not commit violence against  protesters. The point I was trying to make, admittedly I did it very  poorly … was that the violence is really getting out of hand, and much  like in the 1960s, the violence created an atmosphere where something  terrible and tragic like Kent State could happen. I’d like to see the  violence stop before we have a tragedy,” Adamini said.   

“We could be headed toward another Kent State  tragedy if we don’t get a handle on the violence. It sounds like I was  calling for violence, but I was actually trying to call for an end to  the violence. … Some are saying I’m calling for the death of innocent  protesters, but nothing could be further from the truth. There are paid  agitators who continue to plague this country,” he added. 

  Kent State University responded to the controversy with a statement calling the social media posts “abhorrent.” The statement read:  

“May 4, 1970, was a watershed moment for the  country and especially the Kent State University family. We lost four  students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others  were changed forever. This abhorrent post is in poor taste and  trivializes a loss of life that still pains the Kent State community  today. We invite the person who wrote this statement to tour our campus  and our May 4 Visitors Center, which opened four years ago, to gain  perspective on what happened 47 years ago and apply its meaning to the  future.” 

Adamani’s statements were condemned by  both Democrats and Republicans, and he was quickly forced to resign.  However, Adamani blamed his critics for his resignation and claimed that  he received death threats after news of his posts went viral.  

In his resignation statement, Adamani said, “For  the good of the Republican party in Marquette and Michigan, I hereby  resign my position as secretary. The hatred being directed toward me  because of my comments on social media is beginning to hurt others and I  do not want that to happen. The threats and hatred do not appear to be  dying down and I do not want to be a distraction to the important work  that lies ahead. I will continue to support the party, but will not do  so in an official capacity for the foreseeable future.”    Adamini’s talk radio show In the Right Mind has been suspended for at least the rest of the month.