James Spillane, a Republican representative in the New Hampshire legislature, encouraged his Facebook followers to burn and loot any houses that have Black Lives Matter signs.
He’s now being investigated by the New Hampshire Department of Justice to see if he violated the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act for making locals “targets of violence.” Locals are also calling for him to resign.
Spillane’s now-deleted post read: “Public Service Announcement: If you see a BLM sign on a lawn, it’s the same as having a porch light on at Halloween. You are free to burn and loot that house.”
Sean Locke, Director of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Unit, wrote that “members of the public who support the Black Lives Matter movement have expressed fear that they may become targets of violence as the result of Rep. Spillane’s post.”
House Speaker Steve Shurtleff called for Spillane’s immediate resignation. So did Jordan Thompson, a founder of a local Black Lives Matter Nashua and a racial justice organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Hampshire, according to the Concord Monitor.