Upper Marlboro Mayor Resigning After Racist Attacks: Report

UPPER MARLBORO, MD -- Upper Marlboro Mayor Tonga Turner is resigning effective June 21, and she says she has faced racist attacks and bullying during her time in office -- although she denies that's why she's stepping down, according to a report.

NBC 4 reports that Turner, the first-ever Africa-American mayor of Upper Marlboro, wrote in her resignation letter that she was "truly excited about what the future holds for the town and what the future holds for me as we both embark on new journeys."

Turner received threatening emails and was called "certain words" by her constituents, and someone who attends town meetings had been sketching swastika signs, according to a resident quoted in the report.

Fox 5 reports that Turner officially resigned to spend more time with family, and that she denied through a spokesperson that it was because of racist incidents in the two years she has served as mayor.

Her letter struck a mostly positive tone, but it did allude to negativity with a reference to Upper Marlboro being "plagued with a dark history and past," according to WJLA.