A T-shirt worn by a voter in the Olive Branch area Tuesday created a stir on social media and sparked inquiries Wednesday.

The voter, identified by various people on social media and by BuzzFeed News as a registered nurse and former Memphis police officer, wore a white T-shirt with the words "Mississippi Justice" along with a picture of a Confederate flag and a noose.

Election Commissioner Paul Beale does not oversee the polling location where the incident occurred, but he confirmed Wednesday that it happened. He identified the location as the Summershill precinct at 7600 Pleasant Hill Road in Olive Branch.

"We at first thought it was Photoshopped," Beale said, "but we know the lady who was instructing him on using the voting machine."

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BuzzFeed reported the man was Clayton John Hickey, a Olive Branch resident and registered nurse at Regional One Hospital in Memphis who was a Memphis police officer before becoming a nurse.

The website said Regional One confirmed Hickey works there and said the hospital is aware of the incident and is investigating. The story included a statement from Angie Golding, the director of corporate strategic communications for Regional One, that reads the same as a tweet released by the hospital Wednesday afternoon. The statement makes no direct reference to the Olive Branch incident.

"We take the health and well-being of our patients and the community we serve seriously," said the BuzzFeed statement and the tweet. "All allegations of inappropriate behavior involving employees are reviewed and investigated. We are aware of a photograph in circulation, we are investigating and will take appropriate action."

Efforts to reach Golden later Wednesday for additional comment were unsuccessful, and efforts to locate Hickey also were unsuccessful.

Beale said the person in the photograph was voting and was not working at the polling location.

"Absolutely not," Beale said. "If we had a poll worker with something like that on, we'd fire them that instant."

Beale said Mississippi law does not regulate clothing at voting locations, only stipulating that signs for candidates who are on the current ballot cannot be present.

"We can't control what people wear, but I hope someone would have the gumption to say something if it's offensive," Beale said.

Leah Rupp Smith, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Secretary of State's office, said the office confirmed with DeSoto election officials that the individual was casting a ballot and not working at the site.

"Statute does not stipulate a dress code for voters inside polling places," Smith added, "other than restricting voters from using clothing to campaign for a candidate or initiative on the ballot. This office, however, does not condone the propagation of violent or offensive messages of any nature during the voting process."

When called, Beale immediately guessed what the inquiry was about. He said he did not hear about it until around 11 p.m. Tuesday, but that the incident has since generated considerable attention.

"We've gotten calls from everywhere from Jackson, Mississippi, to the mayor of Olive Branch," Beale said.

Olive Branch Mayor Scott Phillips said he notified election commissioners after the city received a complaint from a citizen. Beyond that, he said the matter was the county's responsibility since it operates polling locations.

"I guess my only other comment would be that people need to learn to better respect one another," Phillips said.

'I was disgusted and horrified'

Beale said DeSoto County's five election commissioners check regularly on Election Day with their assigned precincts, but they can't control everything that happens throughout the day. It isn't clear what time the incident involving the T-shirt occurred.

DeSoto County has 41 precincts with just over 100,000 registered voters.

Voters posted a picture of the man voting on social media, and some expressed outrage at his attire. Some questioned whether he shouldn't have been turned away for wearing a shirt expressing hate speech.

"I was in line with my boys at the same time," Ashleigh Parker said on Twitter. "I was disgusted and horrified. We all were. He does not speak for the majority of our city. I wish I had spoken up but I didn't want to bring attention to him."

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