Marshall Arkansas police chief resigns after derogatory social media posts circulate
A police chief in Arkansas has resigned after he threatened to assault "Marxist Democrats" in posts he made on the social media platform Parler.
An active Parler user with the name and picture of Lang Holland, who was Marshall's Chief of Police, posted multiple derogatory posts about Democrats, transgender people, and supporters of Black Lives Matter. One post from Friday told people that when they saw a "Marxist Democrat" in public, they should "get in their face," "throw water on them at restaurants," and "push them off sidewalks."
The mayor of Marshall confirmed on Saturday in a statement that the posts were made by the police chief.
In previous posts, which have now been taken down, Holland encouraged people to burn and smash Democrats' homes and run them out of the country.
The posts began circulating on Facebook and Twitter Friday evening. Another Parler account was created late on Friday with the username "Chieflangholland." The user claimed to be "the real chief," stating the other account is fake and did not represent things he stood for as a “protector of all citizens.”
Both accounts had been taken down on Saturday. The police department's Facebook page was also taken down.
Marshall Mayor Kevin Elliott condemned Holland's statements, saying they did not reflect the city's government or people.
"The Marshall community does not in any way support or condone bullying or threats of violence to anyone of any political persuasion," Elliott said in the statement posted to Facebook Saturday afternoon. "We are a welcoming community that is humbly working to build a bright future for ALL our citizens."
In a comment from earlier this week, Lang said if supporters of Black Lives Matter or Antifa tried to intimidate someone while voting, they should be shot in the face. He shared multiple posts from other users threatening the lives of Democratic politicians.
He also posted that transgender people have no rights, calling them "mentally defective" and "perverted freaks."
In July, Holland made headlines when he released a statement calling Gov. Asa Hutchinson's mask mandate "a very large overreach" of the state's power and refused to enforce it.
Several people have called for Arkansas senators, the attorney general, and the governor to comment on the posts. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
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