'Complete Lie': Brookfield First Selectman On Twitter Accusations

BROOKFIELD, CT — Republican First Selectman Tara Carr is calling the suspension of her Twitter account the result of her words being twisted and a tweet taken out of context.

On Feb. 4, Carr retweeted a Fox News photo of President Joe Biden being asked about his reaction to a suspected Chinese spy balloon moving across the United States. The accompanying tweet from Carr read, "He's aiding & abetting the enemy. Ready. Aim. Fire. One shot, one kill. That simple..."

Carr's tweet was removed from Twitter on Sunday, and on Monday her Twitter account was suspended for violating the social media network's rules, according to a message from the social media company on the first selectman's Twitter page.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, Carr said her suspension was the result of a misunderstanding.

"I urged prompt action to take down the Chinese Communist Party balloon with 'one shot, one kill'. As a retired Army officer, I, along with many others across the country, understood that this was a direct invasion of our nation by a foreign power. My position was shared by literally millions of American and military personnel."

Carr said the out-of-context tweet gave readers the impression she was "promoting violence against our nation’s President. This is a complete lie. As a retired military officer, I have taken an oath to defend our nation, our constitution and yes, even those with whom I disagree."

The first selectman accused "peddlers of misinformation" of being intent upon "twisting the meaning of [her] words, simply to foment hatred and discord against their political opponents during an election year."

On Twitter, the Brookfield Democratic Committee accused Carr of 'peddling conspiracy theories' and looked forward to "the results of an investigation."

Carr's complete statement is as follows:

"Two weeks ago, many Americans, me included, were shocked and critical of President Biden’s failure to act while a Chinese Communist Party balloon sailed over the USA. Replying to a Twitter comment regarding the President’s failure to act to the spy balloon, I urged prompt action to take down the Chinese Communist Party balloon with “one shot, one kill”. As a retired Army officer, I, along with many others across the country, understood that this was a direct invasion of our nation by a foreign power. My position was shared by literally millions of American and military personnel.

"Unfortunately, some on the fringe of the political spectrum, who are more interested in engaging in vitriolic statements and fabricating their own truths, rather than intelligent discourse, took these comments out of context and made ridiculous and false assertions that somehow, I was promoting violence against our nation’s President. This is a complete lie. As a retired military officer, I have taken an oath to defend our nation, our constitution and yes, even those with whom I disagree.

"These individuals are more intent on twisting the meaning of my words, simply to foment hatred and discord against their political opponents during an election year. Most see this group’s actions as shameful, divisive, and destructive, while offering nothing to our political discourse.

"Their intent is to spread misinformation, without ever obtaining the facts, so that good, well- meaning people are being duped into thinking these peddlers of misinformation are somehow onto something.

"Several fake twitter accounts attempting to attribute statements to me, is proof that they don’t care about the truth, only about the destruction of those that have a different opinion. The citizens of Brookfield won’t be hoodwinked by those seeking to gain some sort of political advantage by smearing their political opponents and engaging in “smoke and mirror” tactics directed at any town official.

"My focus is on the business of Brookfield, that is far more important than engaging with small- minded individuals who would prefer to see us fail, simply to try and win an election."