The deputy director of a Memphis-area jail resigned this week after he called the Ku Klux Klan “more American” than President Obama and advocated for the first family’s murder.
David Barber worked at the Shelby County Corrections Center for 17 years prior to resigning this week after his recent Facebook posts made waves.
“The KKK is more American than the illegal president!” Mr. Barber wrote in one.
“I TRUMP wins and obummer cannot start martial law, he will run to his new mansion in thaArab world to hide,” he wrote in another. “Hopefully the Muslims will eliminate him and mooshelle as queers.”
Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell said his office became aware of the remarks last Friday and immediately launched an investigation that culminated in a meeting with Mr. Barber that ended with his resignation.
“After discussing the offensive nature of the comments and the impact they would have on the corrections center, he offered to resign and it was accepted by Corrections Director William Gupton,” the county said in a statement.
“He was very contrite, very apologetic. He recognized that he made a mistake,” Mr. Luttrell said, according to WATN News. “I don’t know [why he did it]. That’s a question only he can answer.”
The offensive social media musings were penned to Mr. Barber’s private Facebook account while he was off-the-clock and were only viewable to users who had been approved to see his postings. Nonetheless, Shelby County said in a statement that his occupation at the local corrections center “was evident to anyone who accessed the page.”
“We’re getting calls now from employees who can’t believe they’ve been working around a man with this level of insensitivity ” County Commission Chairman Melvin Burgess told the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper. “There is no prescription for those kind of beliefs and attitudes. There is nowhere this should be accepted and I am disappointed in the leadership and how it was handled.”
“This was an action by an employee who should have known better. What he did, his behavior was intolerable; it was offensive. We afforded him his rights and due process. He recognized his discretion and [resigned],” Mr. Luttrell said at a press conference Tuesday.
The mayor hadn’t decided if the posts had warranted disciplinary action when Mr. Barber volunteered his resignation, WMC Action News 5 reported this week. Mr. Barber is still be eligible to receive his benefits package from Shelby County since he resigned in lieu of being terminated, WBTV reported.
Mr. Barber could not be reached for comment Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.
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