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An elected official from northwest lower Michigan has caused outrage due to his repeated used of the N-word.
According to The Detroit News, Leelanau County road commissioner Tom Eckerlewas first reported as spewing the racial slur at a public meeting on Tuesday. He is accused of saying the word after he went on a “tirade” about why he refused to wear a mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eckerle, a Republican, is quoted as saying, “Well, this whole thing is because of them ni**ers in Detroit.”
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“I can say anything that I want,” he continued, according to the Leelanau Enterprise. “Black Lives Matter has everything to do with taking the country away from us.”
Bob Joyce, the chairman of the Leelanau Road Commission, explained to The Detroit News that he heard Eckerle say the N-word and he’s calling on him to resign. Joyce said he quickly condemned Eckerle for using the racial slur, which Eckerle used after Joyce asked his thoughts about kids returning to school amid COVID-19.
“(Eckerle) said ‘I can say whatever I want’ and I said ‘no you can’t,’” Joyce said. “It’s horrible. It’s absolutely horrific.”
Joyce said that he and the three other commissioners had planned to give Eckerle a letter on Thursday requesting he step down from his post. “We do not tolerate that,” Joyce said. “That’s not who we are.”
Source: Michigan Official Defends N-Word Against Black Lives Matter: ‘It Is Not Racism’
