Superior, Wisconsin’s mayor refuses to retract an anti-Obama statement he made on Facebook, citing his right to free speech. Some on the city council disagree.
Superior, Wisconsin Mayor Bruce Hagen posted a photo of First Lady Michelle Obama to his Facebook page, calling President Barack Obama a Muslim, and claiming he has destroyed democracy. Hagen did not offer any proof.
“Unbelievable!,” Hagen’s post, which is now hidden from public view, reads, according to WDIO/Eyewitness News. “She and her Muslim partner have destroyed the fabric of democracy that was so very hard fought for!”
The mayor refuses to retract the statement. WDIO reports Hagen “said he stands by the statement and said it was an expression of free speech.”
Five members of the Superior City Council disagree, and are publicly asking Hagen to remove the post.
“Quite simply, these are really inappropriate comments,” city council member Graham Garfield says. “How can we have a non-partisan elected mayor who has to work with elected officials, including the president’s office, making these comments?”
Garfield says he will ask the mayor to resign if he refuses to act.
But City Council President Tom Fennessey disagrees, saying the mayor’s comment is personal, despite that it was made on social media. He also says it has nothing to do with city business.
This is Hagen’s fifth term as mayor. The Duluth News Tribune in April reported that Hagen campaigned on “improvement of Superior’s image.”
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Image: Screenshot via WDIO/Eyewitness News
Hat tip: Talking Points Memo