DAN ADAMINI HAS resigned as secretary of the Marquette County Republican Party, he told The Mining Journal on Wednesday.

Adamini ran into a storm of criticism last week that reached a national scale after he suggested in a couple of social media posts that campus protests might be stopped by gunfire.

“I have always been intent on being helpful to anyone I associate with, and at the moment, all the hatred and anger and threats are being directed not only to me, but to other members of the party,” Adamini said. “It’s made it impossible for me to be helpful. The desire to not be a distraction and a hindrance to the work of the party is what prompted me to do this.”

On Facebook he stated, “I’m thinking another Kent State might be the only solution, protest stopped after only one death. They do it because they know there are no consequences yet.”

And on Twitter he wrote, “Violent protesters who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State, perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery.”

In 1970, four unarmed students at Kent State University were shot and killed by National Guardsmen during an anti-Vietnam War protest. Nine other students were wounded in the protest.

Adamini’s posts came following violent disturbances last week at the University of California Berkeley that prevented right wing editor Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus.

Adamini apologized for his posts and claimed they were misinterpreted.

“I was not speaking on behalf of the GOP,” Adamini stated, and said he hopes that both sides in the U.S. can learn to disagree without being violent.

“We’ve got too much hate in the world. The hatred really has to stop. I’m sorry I played a role in the spawning of hatred.”

Adamini has since deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The posts, though, had gone viral and Adamini was almost universally condemned. Kent State officials called them “abhorrent,” the Democratic Party denounced them, and a Michigan Republican Party executive said that Adamini was speaking for himself, not the party.

Adamini’s talk radio show, “In the Right Mind” which airs Saturday mornings on WDMJ and WIAN, has been suspended for at least the rest of February, according to Sovereign Communications, while they further evaluate the situation.

While he will no longer be affiliated with the Marquette GOP in any official capacity, Adamini said he will continue to support its work.

“I will always support the party as long as it continues to support smaller, more efficient government and encourage an environment where small businesses can thrive and grow,” he said.

Adamini said he has received numerous threatening messages, and has been in contact with the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office.

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