A North Carolina city council was forced to hold an emergency meeting after one of its members made a shocking post about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Following the shooting at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Henderson Councilwoman Geraldine Champion took to Facebook to express her doubts about the authenticity of the shooting.
‘Now the taxpayers have to pay for a fake shooting he staged,’ she wrote.
In another post she called the shooting ‘FAKE NEWS’ because nobody ran in the immediate aftermath, according to screengrabs shared by the popular Libs of TikTok X account.
City officials have since said she displayed ‘inappropriate behavior for a councilmember,’ and the city council convened briefly on Wednesday to discuss its social media policy, WRAL reports.
Henderson, North Carolina Councilwoman Geraldine Champion made a shocking Facebook post about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump
She took to Facebook in the aftermath of the shooting to express her doubts about its authenticity, calling it ‘staged’ and ‘FAKE NEWS’
City Manager Terrell Blackmon did not explicitly connect Wednesday night’s agenda to Champion’s post at the meeting, but he noted there was a gap in the city’s existing social media policy.
‘There’s a social media policy that applies to employees, but it does not apply to the mayor and council,’ he explained.
Blackmon, the Henderson city attorney and mayor are now working on a new policy in response to recent events, the city manager said.
‘I believe adopting a specific social media policy for our council is essential,’ Blackmon said.
The city council ultimately voted unanimously at the short 10-minute-long meeting to adopt a new social media policy.
Until it goes into effect, though, any policy violations would be addressed through the existing code of conduct.
Det. Sgt. Brandon Richardson was suspended from his position after he posted that the gunman was ‘only about an inch from making America great again’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Champion for comment.
The city council meeting came just days after a police officer in another North Carolina town was suspended for posting his reaction to the assassination attempt.
Det. Sgt. Brandon Richardson, a 24-year veteran of the Tarboro Police Department, wrote that 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was ‘only about an inch from making America great again.’
The former president was shot in the ear – turning his head at a vital moment to read a chart showing an increase in illegal immigration.
Richardson’s post has since been deleted and his Facebook account was made private.
But Chief of Police Rick Mann issued a statement on Monday saying that Richardson was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
‘We take this matter very seriously, as it does not reflect the values and standards of our department,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘We understand that such incidents can affect public trust, and we are dedicated to handling this matter with the seriousness and accountability it deserves.’
Mann noted that the department took ‘immediate steps to address this situation,’ including putting Richardson on administrative leave and launching an internal investigation to ‘determine the context and details surrounding the post.’
The department will also examine its own social media policy.
The former president was shot in the ear – turning his head at a vital moment to read a chart showing an increase in illegal immigration
He pumped his fists and chanted ‘fight, fight, fight’ as Secret Service agents led him off the stage
Richardson has since issued an apology on his own Facebook page, CBS 17 reports.
‘My attempt at dark humor was completely out of line and in poor taste,’ he wrote.
‘I realize now that my words were not only inappropriate, but also deeply offensive to many of you. For that, I am truly sorry.’
He then went on to say he takes full responsibility for the post, and asked those reading his apology to ‘keep Mr. Trump and his family in our thoughts as he heals from this physical and mental wound.’
As the gunfire rang out on Saturday, the former president was seen grabbing at his head and ducked as screams front terrified onlookers ran out.
He then stood, pumped his fist and chanted ‘fight, fight, fight’ as Secret Service rushed him off stage and into a motorcade.
An investigation into the shooting is now underway, as officials question how the gunman was able to set up his AR-style rifle just over 100 yards from the former president.