North Carolina council is forced to hold emergency meeting over shocking post lawmaker made about Trump assassination attempt

A North Carolina city council was forced to hold an emergency meeting after one of its members made a shocking post about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Following the shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday, Henderson City Councilwoman Geraldine Champion took to Facebook to express her doubts about the authenticity of the shooting.

“Now taxpayers are footing the bill for a shooting he staged,” she wrote.

In another post, she called the shooting “FAKE NEWS” because no one ran away in the immediate aftermath, according to screenshots shared by the popular Libs of TikTok X account.

City officials have since said she was acting “inappropriately for a council member,” and the City Council met briefly on Wednesday to discuss social media policy. WRAL reports.

After the shooting, she took to Facebook to express her doubts about the authenticity of the post, calling it “staged” and “FAKE NEWS.”

City Manager Terrell Blackmon did not explicitly connect Wednesday night’s agenda to Champion’s post during the meeting, but he did note a gap in the city’s existing social media policy.

“There is a social media policy that applies to employees, but it doesn’t apply to the mayor and council,” he explained.

Blackmon, the city attorney and mayor of Henderson, is now working on a new policy in response to recent events, the city manager said.

“I think it is essential to adopt a specific social media policy for our council,” Blackmon said.

The city council ultimately voted unanimously during the short 10-minute meeting to adopt a new social media policy.

Until the Code comes into effect, any policy violations will be addressed through the existing Code of Conduct.

Detective Brandon Richardson was suspended after posting that the shooter was ‘inches away from making America great again’

DailyMail.com has contacted Champion for comment.

The City Council meeting came days after a police officer in another North Carolina city was suspended for posting a response to the attempted murder.

Detective Brandon Richardson, a 24-year veteran of the Tarboro Police Department, wrote that 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was “one inch away from making America great again.”

The former president was shot in the ear when he turned his head at a crucial moment to read a graph showing an increase in illegal immigration.

Richardson’s post has since been deleted and his Facebook account has been made private.

But Police Chief Rick Mann released a statement Monday saying Richardson has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

“We take this matter very seriously as it does not reflect the values ​​and standards of our department,” he wrote on Facebook.

“We understand that such incidents can undermine public trust and we are committed to handling this matter with the seriousness and accountability it deserves.”

Mann noted that the department “took immediate steps to address this situation,” including suspending Richardson and launching an internal investigation to “determine the context and details surrounding the post.”

The department will also review its own social media policy.

The former president was shot in the ear when he turned his head at a crucial moment to read a graph showing an increase in illegal immigration

He clenched his fists and chanted “fight, fight, fight” as Secret Service agents led him off the stage

Richardson has since apologized on his own Facebook page, CBS 17 reports.

“My attempt at black humor was completely inappropriate and in bad taste,” he wrote.

“I now realize that my words were not only inappropriate, but deeply offensive to many of you. For that, I sincerely apologize.”

He then said he took full responsibility for the post and asked those reading his apology to “keep Mr. Trump and his family in their thoughts as he heals from this physical and mental wound.”

As gunfire rang out Saturday, the former president could be seen clutching his head and ducking as terrified bystanders ran outside, screaming.

He then stood up, pumped his fist and chanted “fight, fight, fight” as the Secret Service pushed him off the stage and into a procession.

The shooting is currently under investigation as authorities question how the shooter was able to position his AR-style rifle more than 100 yards away from the former president.