GWINNETT COUNTY, GA (WSB/CNN) - A judge in Georgia is off the bench after comparing protesters to ISIS. Gwinnett Judge James Hinkle posted the comment on Facebook Saturday.
Activist Donna McLeod is happy the chief magistrate took immediate action in suspending the veteran judge.
“I was actually surprised and stunned that they moved so briskly,” McLeod said. “I’m very concerned about him going back on the bench.
McLeod was one of the people who challenged Hinkle on Facebook after seeing his comments about protests in Charlottesville.
Hinkle wrote, “It looks like all of the snowflakes have no concept of history. It is what it is. Get over it and move on.”
When writing about how all the rear ends of the horses on Confederate monuments face north, he posted, “Perfect.”
And his final post read, “The nut cases tearing down monuments are equivalent to ISIS destroying history.”
Hinkle has been a part-time magistrate judge for several years in Gwinnett. He served as Grayson’s mayor for a quarter century.
Protesters are still showing up at county board meetings, demanding the resignation of County Commissioner Tommy Hunter after he made controversial comments including a “snowflake” reference. Fellow commissioners gave Hunter a verbal reprimand. The laws, they say, don’t allow any stronger punishment for an elected official.
But Hinkle was appointed, so it’s up to the chief magistrate judge.
“You are talking about a judge now who has the power to decide somebody’s fate,” McLeod said.
McLeod said Hinkle posted his comments about an hour before the protests in Charlottesville turned deadly.
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