Prominent local Republican receiving backlash for controversial social media posts
MARQUETTE – Dan Adamini was upset when he saw the recent protests at U.C. Berkeley.
“This was not a protest. This was a riot,” said Adamini. We had buildings being vandalized, we had people being beaten and assaulted.”
Like many Americans, Adamini took to social media to exercise his first amendment right, giving his opinion on the matter. A tweet, posted by Adamini Thursday morning, said, ‘Violent protesters who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery.’
A protest in 1970 on the campus of Kent State University turned deadly, when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on people who were protesting America’s invasion of the Vietnam War.
“I think we need to crack down on the violence and then we can avoid what a lot of people were thinking I’m actually calling for, which is the shooting of these protestors, and that was not what I was calling for at all,” said Adamini.
His posts on Facebook and Twitter caused quite a firestorm.
“The Kent State Massacre left four people dead, nine injured and one person permanently paralyzed,” said Jason Chapman, chairman of the Marquette County Democrats.
“We believe in peaceful protesting and that is the cornerstone of our first amendment rights. But when someone suggests the killing of innocent protestors, that is what we believe that there is a problem,” he added.
“Do you regret the wording that you had on your Facebook and Twitter posts with the way you put things?” asked ABC 10’s Jerry Taylor.
“Looking back I worded it very poorly,” said Adamini. “When I looked at the first post I knew what I was trying to say and I thought, ‘Ok that sums it up in my mind.’ Looking at it now I certainly wished I would’ve worded it differently because I can see how people got the impression that I was actually calling for violence,” he added.
I posted earlier today that the violent riots at Berkely were reminiscent of the riots at kent state, and that the…
Posted by Daniel Adamini on Thursday, February 2, 2017
Adamini is the secretary for the Marquette County GOP and has a radio show, ‘In The Right Mind’ that airs Saturday morning on WDMJ and WIAN in Marquette. We reached out to both outlets, who released statements about Adamini’s comments.
Brendan Biolo, the chair for the Marquette County GOP, said, “We would never advocate for violence. No one is for physical violence.”
Sovereign Communications, which airs Admini’s radio show, said, “Dan’s show is an independent show. His views do not express the views of Sovereign Communications.”
Adamini did take down the posts and has since issued retraction statements.
“I think it’s better off to let Facebook be what it was intended to be; a way to keep in touch with folks. I may or may not put the page back up,” said Adamini.
“The show page is still there, so if people want to vent their hatred at me, go to it. That’s what it’s for.”
Taking a lot of heat for a very poorly worded tweet yesterday. Sorry folks, the intent was to try to stop the violence, not encourage more
— Dan Adamini (@DanAdamini) February 3, 2017