The Allegheny County Police Association on Monday called for the resignation of an Allegheny County Council member over a tweet she posted Sunday night.
The tweet, posted by Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, said, “Never burned a police car myself, but [expletive] yeah let’s riot against fascism.” The tweet has since been deleted.
“Taking into consideration the riots that are occurring all over this country, and the devastation to the property and the communities that they are occurring in, as an elected official Ms. Hallam should publicly condemn this type of behavior because she, as an elected official, has a responsibility for the safety and security of the citizens of Allegheny County in which she serves,” a statement from the police organization said.
“If she cannot condemn this type of behavior, she should remove herself as a representative of Allegheny County.”
During a phone call Monday evening, Ms. Hallam — a Democrat at-large member who is in her first year on council and also is a member of the county elections board — defended the tweet, saying it was taken out of context. And she said she won’t resign.
Ms. Hallam said she posted the tweet in response to another one posted by a Republican candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, John Waugh of the North Hills. She said the candidate’s post criticized a poster for an upcoming voting rally, sponsored by the Alliance for Police Accountability, that depicted people burning a police car with Ms. Hallam’s name and the name’s of several other elected officials alongside it.
The Republican Committee of Allegheny County also criticized the poster, saying, “Is this what you want more of? This group showing a poster of a police car on fire while people celebrate, all while claiming to defend democracy. The sitting at-large democrat on the Board of Elections openly advocating for rioting against ‘fascism’ (aka anything she doesn’t like.)”
Ms. Hallam said she was simply defending herself in her tweet, and that she does not support violence in any way. She added, however, that many protests have been called “riots” by critics, regardless of whether they become violent.
“This is why we cannot sit idly by and let people label [the protests] whatever they want,” Ms. Hallam said.
Asked whether she would comply with the calls for her to resign, Ms. Hallam said, “I’m sure they would love that.”
Representatives of the police association could not be reached for further comment.
Nick Trombola: ntrombola@post-gazette.com
First Published: November 3, 2020, 1:14 a.m.
