NORRISTOWN, Pa. (WLVT) - A Montgomery County commissioners words about protests in and around the Philadelphia region have prompted calls for his resignation.
- Gale's full statement, titled ''Riots and Looting in Philadelphia,'' is copied at the bottom of this page
The lengthy diatribe involves Commissioner Joe Gale's personal views, including calling Black Lives Matter a hate group.
In the statement, which was printed on county letterhead, the Lansdale-based Republican called Black Lives Matter a ‘’radical left-wing hate group’’ and referred to Democratic leaders as ‘’sympathizers of enemy combatants.’’
The letter quickly trended on social media, with users calling it both divisive and racially charged.
''I was disappointed and disgusted,'' Shira Goodman, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League's Philadelphia chapter, told PBS39. ''For anybody, but especially an elected official, to use that kind of language to talk about protesters, our fellow citizens, mayors and the police commissioner, is unacceptable. We know that these are hyper-partisan times, and that people have passionate views, but we need to be respectful, we need to understand. We need to have civil and civic dialogue.''
ADL Philadelphia denounced Gale’s claims, calling them ‘’unapologetically racist.’’
''What Commissioner Gale did, was full of racist rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and was hate-filled,'' said Goodman. ''He disenfranchised whole numbers of our community. An elected official has to be held to higher standards. That’s why the ADL called him out.''
DENOUNCED BY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS
Gale is one of three commissioners who oversee the county. His Democratic counterparts both condemned Gale’s words. None of the commissioners were immediately able to return PBS39's request for comment.
On Facebook, Commissioner Ken Lawrence posted, in part: ''As a black man, I am angry, sad, frightened and numb.’’
Val Arkoosh, another commissioner, tweeted: ''We must join together to denounce those whose hateful, racist rhetoric seeks to divide us.’’
COMMUNITY WEIGHS IN
PBS39 caught up with voters in Norristown on Tuesday and asked them about their thoughts on Gale’s open letter.
''He’s an example of why we need to be here today,'' said Steven Anthony. ''I don’t have much to say about his statement, except that it sounds like ignorance. That’s why we’re here today - to get guys like him out of there. We need better leadership, and it starts at the top, from the chief commander and all the way down, to make things better.''
''I think it’s horrific,'' said Janet Tomcavage. ''I just put my Black Lives Matter sign out, so that people know how I feel. It's an important time to stand up for it. It’s not a hate group.''
Sixers star Tobias Harris, who called Gale’s remarks ‘’disgusting'' on Twitter, is among a growing number of people calling for the commissioners resignation. A Change.org petition calling for Gale to resign has racked up over 70,000 signatures since Monday.
A demonstration against Gale is planned for Thursday morning at the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Gale's statement, titled ''Riots and Looting in Philadelphia,'' is copied below:
''What we saw this weekend in Philadelphia was not a protest - it was a riot. In fact, nearly every major city across the nation was ravaged by looting, violence and arson.
The perpetrators of this urban domestic terror are radical left-wing hate groups like Black Lives Matter. This organization, in particular, screams racism not to expose bigotry and injustice, but to justify the lawless destruction of our cities and surrounding communities. Their objective is to unleash chaos and mayhem without consequence by falsely claiming they, in fact, are the victims.
For years, our police men and women have been demonized and degraded by the radical left. As a result of this defamation and character assassination, as well as a complicit media constantly pushing the bogus narrative of systemic police brutality and white racism, law enforcement is afraid to do their job of protecting innocent people and their property.
In addition, too many Democrat mayors are sympathizers of these far-left radical enemy combatants. As a result, their misguided empathy has enabled a level of unfettered criminality never witnessed before in American history.
Sadly, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney falls in this category of sympathetic Democrat mayors. And his handpicked Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw seems to share her boss's sentiment. Frankly, the name Outlaw fits her to a tee.
This past weekend, I watched television coverage of police officers being ordered to stand down as the statue of Frank Rizzo was spray painted, lit on fire and attempted to be pulled down.
The only way to stop this vandalism and chaos is by allowing law enforcement to do their job of enforcing the law. Otherwise, so-called ‘peaceful protests’ end up escalating to into violence, arson and looting.
Police cannot continue to 'give space' to opportunists and lawbreakers. Because as they say, 'If you give an inch, they will take a foot.'
We need law-and-order. We need leaders who will uphold the laws they swore to defend when they placed their hand on the Holy Bible on inauguration day. The broken promises of failed Democrat mayors like Jim Kenney have led not just to broken windows, but a broken public trust that must be restored before more cities are shattered.''