Maine State Rep. Charlotte Warren (D) is facing backlash and calls for her resignation after posting a comment on Facebook that specifically tore into “straight white men.”
Fox 22 WFVX in Bangor reported Wednesday protesters gathered outside City Hall in Hallowell, Warren’s district, voicing outrage over what they said was a “racist” and “sexist” Facebook post that also appeared on the Maine State Senate Facebook page.
“After 20 years in politics, I’ve arrived at the following conclusion,” Warren began on July 1 in the since-deleted post, as reported by the Maine Journal News:
Straight white men are too emotional to be in politics.
Consider this a call to action to all my queers and gal pals!
Dear white men who are feeling the need to complain about my comments: Check your priviledge (sic), your emotions, and be prepared for your comments to be deleted. Because, ‘Merica, free speech, and all that jazz.”
#EffectiveGovernmentRequiresGrownPeople
#CanWeGetSomeTherapistsUpInHere
#DontShootTheMessenger
“When you straight out call out a straight white man that’s identity politics,” said protest organizer Chris Clarke. “Not only is that racist because you’re making it about a white male, but it’s also bigotry.”
“[N]obody gets to say anything about a black person, gay person, or Arab or whatever,” said Rebecca Rochelle. “I think it’s totally wrong, and she doesn’t have a place in politics.”
Fox 22 also reported:
According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, public officials are prohibited from selectively deleting negative comments and blocking certain users from their social media account.
Clarke said he and other members of the community are calling upon Warren to step down.
“You need to resign today,” he said. “We are here to be peaceful … We are here to let the community of Hallowell know that everybody’s voice matters, not just one person.”
Organizers created a petition to have Warren removed from her legislative committees. The petition includes her original post and supportive comments from some of her fellow Democrat lawmakers:
On July 1st, Maine Rep. Charlotte Warren of District 84, posted a post attacking White, straight men. She made this post on the Maine State Senate facebook page. Several other Democrat Representatives supported Charlotte’s comments within their own troubling comments: Rep. Richard Evans of Dover-Foxcroft and Lori Gramlich of Old Orchard. We believe Charlotte’s comments are an infringement of Maine constituents’ rights to petition their government based on 1)their skin color 2) their gender and 3) their perceived emotion state.
Ms. Warren additionally informed this demographic that if they “need to complain about her [my] comments” those comments will be deleted.
Outrageous! Rep. Warren is interfering with entire demographics Constitutionally protected freedom of speech and right to petition their government.
Courts have clearly ruled that government actors cannot censor critics on social media platforms. https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/internet-speech/court-rules-public-officials-cant-block-critics-facebook
https://www.aclu-nj.org/theissues/freespeechexpression/know-your-rights-when-public-officials-censor-you-social-mediaRep. Warren’s enjoys freedom of speech protections, like all of us. Regardless, Rep. Warren issued her comments clearly as a Maine State Legislature, made her post on the Maine Senate facebook page and pictured herself in the State House Halls.
A photo of the original post that appears on the petition shows some state lawmakers backed Warren’s slur against straight white men, including state Rep. Richard Evans (D), a black man, who responded to Warren, “Love it! Take no prisoners Charlotte!”
A photo at the Maine Journal News showed state Sen. Chloe S. Maxmin (D) responded to Warren, “My idol.”
The protesters continued with their demands for expulsion from the state legislature:
We demand Charlotte be expelled from the Maine State Legislature at once. We further demand Rep. Evans and Rep. Gramlich be removed from their committees by Speaker of the House, Ryan Fecteau. We also demand a full investigation via the Government Oversight Committee and any other sanctions at hand. Please support this effort to remove these Democrats from their committees by signing this petition so we can deliver to the Speaker of the House.
Former Maine Rep. Larry Lockman (R), co-founder and president of the Maine First Project, wrote at his organization’s website he wanted to “shout out a big ‘thank you!’ to Rep. Charlotte Warren for dropping the progressive mask that so many of her Democrat colleagues wear every day to conceal their racist, sexist, heterophobic bigotries.”
“I’m just disappointed that she’s turned into such a sniveling coward,” Lockman mocked. “She took down her bigoted Facebook rant within hours of putting it up, just because some straight white dudes complained.”
But Lockman continued:
Make no mistake: Charlotte’s trifecta of bigotry — sexual orientation, race, and gender — is an accurate reflection of how her Democrat colleagues (and many Republicans) at the Statehouse view the world.
Whatever else she is, Charlotte Warren is NOT a member of an oppressed minority group. She is a pampered, privileged progressive with a chip on her shoulder. (sic) And she is a member in good standing of the Rainbow Mafia, so don’t expect her to back down or apologize, much less resign her seat in the Legislature.
Breitbart News reached out to Warren for comment and is awaiting a response.