'Racist Pig' Case: Ethics Board Recommends Public Reprimand

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — After three hours of deliberation, a Gwinnett County ethics board recommended Tuesday that Commissioner Tommy Hunter be publicly reprimanded for offensive Facebook posts targeting U.S. Rep. John Lewis and others.

The board upheld two of three complaints against Hunter, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The ethics board's recommendation now goes to the full Board of Commissioners, which has 30 days to act on the recommendation according to county ordinance.

In a series of Facebook posts in January, Hunter — a Republican — called Lewis, a Democrat and celebrated civil rights icon, a "racist pig." He went on to call Lewis's political victories "illegitimate," saying his Atlanta district is carved out to keep him in office, and referred to Democrats as "Demonrats" and "idiots."

Since that time, crowds have been attending Gwinnett Board of Commissioners meetings, calling on Hunter to apologize and resign. Hunter offered a qualified apology at the first meeting after his posts became public, saying he was sorry for his "choice of words."

A citizen filed a complaint against Hunter over the posts, marking the first time the county's new ethics ordinance was invoked.

Public reprimand was the stiffest possible penalty the ethics board could have recommended on Tuesday.

Hunter has refused to participate in the panel's investigation, not filling a position on the board that he's allowed to fill under the ordinance and declining to answer questions during a board hearing. He has since challenged the ethics board's constitutionality in Gwinnett Superior Court.

To read the AJC's report, click here.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners