John Lewis Is A 'Racist Pig,' Gwinnett Commissioner Writes

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County commissioner interjected himself into the debate between U.S. Rep. John Lewis and President-elect Donald Trump this weekend, calling Atlanta's Lewis a "racist pig" in a Facebook post.

Lewis, who represents Georgia's Fifth Congressional District based in Atlanta, is a civil rights icon and was one of the Rev. Martin Luther King's key lieutenants who was beaten and jailed repeatedly for the cause before entering elected politics.

On Friday, Lewis said he didn't view Trump as "a legitimate president," in part because he believed Russian interference helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

"John Lewis is a racist pig," Gwinnett County District 3 Commissioner Tommy Hunter wrote Saturday on Facebook, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The post on Hunter's personal Facebook page went on to twice refer to Democrats as "Demonrats," the paper reported.

"They believe polls were right and the REAL VOTES were wrong," Hunter wrote. "What a bunch of idiots."

Hunter, a Republican, represents Snellville, Loganville and other parts of an ethnically diverse span of Gwinnett County. He was first elected in 2012, and narrowly re-elected this year.

His suburban Atlanta district is miles east of Lewis's and the two do not overlap.

In response to Lewis, Trump took to Twitter to attack the civil rights leader and his district, which includes multiple universities, Fortune 500 companies, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and other institutions, along with a diverse array of residential communities.

"Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to...... mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!"

On Twitter, residents of Lewis's district fired back at what many considered uninformed comments by Trump, using the hashtags #fifthdistrict and #DefendThe5th.

Hunter, according to the AJC, addressed Lewis on his Facebook page again on Sunday.

"John Lewis' district is drawn to keep him in power," Hunter wrote. "His wins are all illegitimate. How can other reps be concerned about working with him."

Like all Georgia congressional districts, Lewis's Fifth District was drawn up by the state legislature, which is controlled in both houses by Republicans.

Reached by the AJC on Monday morning, Hunter conceded that calling Lewis a "racist pig" was "probably an overreaction out of aggravation," but stood by the rest of his message.

"While I am grateful for what the Congressman did in Selma and other times during the civil rights movement, you get respect by showing respect," the paper quoted Hunter as writing in a Facebook message. "He is using his fame as a way to continually divide the races and in this case standing on the very much unsubstantiated claim that the guy I voted for is racist and only won because of Russians hacking the election— which, of course, we all know didn't occur."

In a report delivered to the president-elect on Friday, U.S. intelligence officials said that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered cyberattacks during the 2016 presidential election intending to weaken the candidacy of Hillary Clinton and help Trump win the election.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners