DARLINGTON, SC (WBTW) – The clerk of court with the City of Darlington was fired after she posted disparaging comments on Facebook, according to the city.
The comments were about the Nashville riots and were posted on Jonna Carter’s personal Facebook page, according to Lisa Chalian-Rock, director of planning & economic development. Carter had identified herself as the city’s Clerk of Court on that page.
Carter removed the post as instructed once the city was made aware of the situation, Chalian-Rock said. She was fired on Monday morning.
The city released this statement: “We apologize to anyone offended by these statements as they do not represent the City of Darlington, its values, or its mission.
“The City of Darlington does not condone violence or racism. Period.
“While this employee has First Amendment rights as every other citizen, talking about violence against others is like yelling fire in a crowded theater. Both are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“The City of Darlington has actively approached the issue of police brutality by becoming the first city in the state of South Carolina to provide body cameras for all officers in our agency to improve transparency. This example led the state legislature to require body cameras for all officers.
“The City of Darlington continues to research and implement methods to reduce violence amongst the community and between our officers and our citizens.
“We support everyone’s First Amendment rights. We ask that those individuals exercising such rights do so in a peaceful manner. We will not tolerate violence from our staff or from the public.
“We also ask citizens to be considerate and maintain 6 feet of social distancing as the COVID 19 pandemic still impacts our world.”
Mayor Curtis Boyd released the following video statement: