Embattled Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter walked out of a Tuesday afternoon meeting as protesters lined up to decry his controversial social media activity.
The first protester in line continued speaking in Hunter’s absence. When the second speaker asked where the commissioner had gone, board chair Charlotte Nash said he was “gone for the afternoon.”
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Hunter has been the target of protests and calls for his resignation since The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published screenshots of a Jan. 14 Facebook post in which he called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a "racist pig." An ethics complaint was filed against him on Feb. 6, and that complaint got the go-ahead to proceed last week.
Hunter participated in the first 30 minutes or so of Tuesday afternoon’s business meeting but departed as the public comment period began.
The protesters, about two dozen of which were present, carried on in Hunter’s absence. For about 90 minutes, they attacked Hunter, calling him a “coward” and a “chicken” — and also expressed frustration with his fellow commissioners.
“It is the culture in the county government that created the likes of Tommy Hunter,” Gabe Okoye, president of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party, said.
Read the full story at myAJC.com.
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