Michael Morrill, executive director of the statewide liberal group, Keystone Progress, says he has been in war zones and riots, but never has witnessed the kind of aggression he saw the evening Gilberton police Chief Mark Kessler was suspended by borough council.



And he won't be going back to Gilberton for a replay on Friday night, as the council has set a special meeting and summoned Kessler, whose 30-day suspension as chief ends tomorrow at midnight.

Morrill is staying away even as his group continues to call for Kessler's immediate dismissal, having circulated a petition with 23,000 signatures and counting.

"We have some real concerns," Morrill said. "My board has told me not to go there. There have been no threats to me. But my name is all over blogs, even on Kessler's Facebook page."

Michael Morrill, of Keystone Progress, delivers 20,0000 signatures to the mayor demanding the firing of Kessler. At far left is activist Gene Stilp. 07/31/2013 Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

So Morrill and members of his group, who routinely turn out in force to make their point known, will be no-shows in Gilberton.

"I'll be available by phone," Morrill said.

"I used to do a lot of international peace work," he explained. "I was in Bosnia on the front lines. I've been in war situations. I've been in places where riots are going on. I never saw the uncontrolled rage that I saw there. It's really scary when you see someone with the rage of Mark Kessler."

Morrill hinted that the most contentious issue might not be Kessler's firing. Even the potty-mouthed chief prone to posting politically caustic videos on YouTube has said he expects to be fired on Friday.

"I can't believe that the council would do anything except terminate his contract," Morrill said of Kessler. "He has come close to violating so many laws, there is no way he could serve as an objective law enforcement officer."

Instead, the touchiest issue could be the disposition of any fully-automatic weapons or machine guns Kessler still might have in his possession. If Kessler is stripped of his status as a law enforcement officer, it would be illegal for him to own or possess those weapons, Morrill said.

"That's a federal issue," Morrill said. "No one knows how many weapons he has. And if he is no longer the chief, he will be no longer eligible to keep those things (automatic weapons or machine guns)."

PennLive is planning full coverage of the Gilberton Council meeting on Friday evening, with tweets and pictures throughout the day from Gilberton via @JohnLuciew.