The alma mater of a west Alabama newspaper publisher embroiled in controversy over recent editorials has removed him from its journalism hall of fame.

On Tuesday morning, the University of Southern Mississippi released a statement condemning Goodloe Sutton, editor and publisher of The Democrat-Reporter in Linden and a 1964 graduate of Southern Miss, over a recent editorial where he called for the Ku Klux Klan to ride into Washington, D.C. and hang people who viewed as “socialist-communists.”

In 2007, Sutton and his late wife, Jean, were inducted in to the hall of fame for their work at the newspaper, which they had both worked at since 1964. Jean died in 2003.

USM released the following statement regarding Sutton:

“Within the last few hours, the School of Communication at the University of Southern Mississippi learned of Mr. Goodloe Sutton’s call for violence and the return of the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Sutton’s subsequent rebuttals and attempts at clarification only reaffirm the misguided and dangerous nature of his comments.

“The School of Communication strongly condemns Mr. Sutton’s remarks as they are antithetical to all that we value as scholars of journalism, the media, and human communication. Our university’s values of social responsibility and citizenship, inclusion and diversity, and integrity and civility are the foundation upon which we have built our School and its programs.

“Mr. Sutton was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the School of Mass Communication & Journalism, the predecessor to the School of Communication, in 2007 based on his anti-corruption articles and editorials in the 1990s that earned him and his wife Jean numerous national and international journalism awards.

“In light of Mr. Sutton’s recent and continued history of racist remarks, however, the School of Communication has removed his place in our Hall of Fame.”

At one point, the Democrat-Reporter received national recognition for its efforts to expose the malfeasance of former Marengo County Sheriff Roger Davis, as well as the corruption in his office during the mid-1990s. Davis was later sent to federal prison after being convicted of extorting a bondsman.

In the wake of the controversy, several other editorials from the newspaper have resurfaced. In one, he defended Harley Barber, a former University of Alabama student who left the school after repeatedly using racial epithets on Instagram. In another, he questioned the truth behind allegations three different women had brought against former Anniston Star Publisher H. Brandt Ayers, who was accused of spanking female reporters during the 1970s. Ayers resigned from the Star shortly after the allegations were published.

Sutton’s family has owned The Democrat-Reporter since 1917.

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.