Jess Aloe

Free Press Staff Writer

A Republican running to represent Burlington's New North End in the Vermont House is standing by Twitter postings that a leader of his own party has condemned.

Mike McGarghan released an open letter to voters Wednesday saying he has been targeted by political opponents for a tweet he sent in April calling President Barack Obama a traitor who should be hanged. He said the threats and harassment his family has received infringe on his right to free speech.

The veteran former Ward 7 school commissioner added that he and his family have received a credible death threat.

Vermont State Police said they referred the incident to city police, who had not responded to a request for comment as of Thursday evening.

Last spring, McGarghan sent out a tweet calling Obama a traitor.

"Take that traitor Obama & hang him from the neck until he's dead! If only the Senate & House done their jobs," McGarghan wrote. In a video linked to the tweet, the host says Obama is a leftist zealot raised by communists who wishes to destroy the U.S. military.

In an interview Thursday, McGarghan said he regretted calling for Obama's execution but defended his belief that the president had betrayed his country.

House Minority Leader Don Turner, who would lead McGarghan's caucus if the Burlington man is elected, said he had quickly condemned the postings after they came to light. He said there is no place in public office for hateful and incendiary discourse.

"The voters of Burlington will decide if Mike McGaghan is elected to go to Montpelier," he wrote in an email to the Free Press. McGarghan's comments are absolutely not indicative of how the around 100 Vermont Republicans running for office talk, Turner added.

McGarghan said he felt a visceral reaction to the video, as a military veteran.

Several other politicos have weighed in, including Democratic Burlington state Rep. Mary Sullivan, who characterized his words as criminal in a public Facebook post.

"I hope the residents out there demand he step aside," she said.

Another Democratic Burlington representative, Jean O'Sullivan, posted a message to Front Porch Forum saying McGarghan had called for lynching of the president. She tied his tweets to entrenched racism in the political system.

"The only recourse for both of them is to retreat back into their private lives and leave our public offices alone," she wrote.

McGarghan denied that his reference to hanging Obama had any racial overtones and instead said the reference to hanging was a historical reference to the way the United States had once punished traitors.

"I'm colorblind," he said.

The Secret Service would not confirm if they have investigated McGarghan over his twitter postings, and the candidate said he was unaware of any inquiries by the agency. Under federal law, threatening the president or vice president is illegal and carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

McGarghan deleted his entire Twitter history after the postings were first reported in Vermont Digger earlier this month, but defended his actions in his letter. He said he posted his tweet after watching a YouTube video that raised concerns for him about Obama's leadership.

"My tweet addressed our US Constitution's prescription of the death penalty for treason," he wrote. "My tweet touched on Congress’ failure to act," he added further down in his letter.

McGarghan said Thursday he deleted his Twitter history to end a conversation he feels is unfair, rather than as an apology. He criticized the backlash against him as an extension of political correctness that would lead people to organize against him for his beliefs.

McGarghan said he is not racist, nor is he anti-immigrant.

His intent in writing the letter was not to garner sympathy, he said.

"I'm sharing to demonstrate how politics in Vermont has shifted, as people believe that the rights of the individual no longer matter. You'll hear about tolerance and diversity, but it is applied selectively and for the benefit of those groups in favor today."

A vote for him would be a vote to return Vermont to its roots, he said.

McGarghan is running for one of the two seats in the Chittenden 6-1 district. The New North End is currently represented by Democrat Joanna Cole and Republican Kurt Wright. Both incumbents will appear on the ballot in November, as well as McGarghan and Carol Ode, a Democrat.

"I am one of Mike McGarghan's political opponents," Cole wrote in an email to the Free Press. "I disagree with many of his ideas, values but I respect him as a human being."

Neither Wright nor Ode responded to a request for comment Thursday.

This story first appeared online on Oct. 27, 2016. Contact Jess Aloe at 802-660-1874 or jaloe@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @jess_aloe.

Michael McGarghan for State Representative Statement 10-26-2016