UPDATE: A statement from the Denver Republican Party chairwoman Kristina Cook acknowledges the clap back from Bernice King but blames the controversy on rascal Democrats on social media– while admitting both the photo and the comment are accurate if not originally meant to be, you know, viewed together:

On Tuesday, as happens too often in the current political climate, a comment made as part of an online conversation was photoshopped to appear connected with a photo taken 3 years ago. This action was taken in an effort to misrepresent the intent of my comment. I wish the thread was still available for people to judge for themselves, but in the interest of maintaining this ruse, the other party has deleted the thread. Regardless of the context of the conversation, my comment about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drew the attention of Dr. Bernice King. Her tweet helped me understand that while I wish that he’d had a protective detail on that day so that he’d still be with us, that would not have been her father’s wish. I have reached out privately to Dr. King to thank her for helping me understand her father’s perspective. I will also be issuing a public response to her tweet following an opportunity to speak with her further. We could use Dr. Martin Luther King’s presence in this divided world. Doctored memes like the one being circulated of me only serve to increase the division, when in a case like this both sides share the same ultimate respect for Dr. King. The Denver County Republican Party will continue to reach a hand over that divide in the hopes that we can join others looking to find unity, peace and healing for our community.

We must have missed the “unity, peace, and healing” part, because we surer than hell never saw it here.

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We were forwarded a Facebook post attributed to Denver Republican Party chairwoman Kristina Cook from a couple of days ago that, whether it was intended as a throwaway line in an unrelated argument or whatever the purpose was, has now become a major embarrassment for Republicans nationally after being denounced last night by Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:

Listen to his speech, ‘I’ve Been To The Mountaintop,’ delivered the evening before he was assassinated. My father knew his time on earth was short. He stood by his nonviolent philosophy. He would not have wanted a gun battle on his behalf. Don’t use him for this. #MLK pic.twitter.com/qQEgm4dNzQ — Be A King (@BerniceKing) September 5, 2019

So first of all–actually second after we note how gratuitously offensive this post is in any context–we’re curious whether this photo was taken in the City and County of Denver, which has had an assault weapon ban in place for many years. We’re not lawyers, but we do know that Denver’s assault weapons ban has withstood plenty of legal challenges–and it’s possible this photo was not a good idea for Denver GOP chairwoman Cook for very straightforward criminal liability reasons.

Setting that issue aside, the idea that Dr. King would have wanted a “a sniper on his side” on April 4th, 1968 when he was killed by a white man with a high-powered rifle is sufficiently ignorant of everything King stood for that we believe his daughter’s powerful rebuttal is absolutely sufficient. If Denver or other Colorado Republicans possess any residual shame, we expect to be hearing from them soon as well.

Regretfully.