"Citizens take arms" Silicon Valley elected official asked to resign after posts inciting violence
Silicon Valley Leaders and residents are calling for an elected offficial to resign following a series of social media posts inciting violence.
On January 6th, Santa Clara County elected offical, Phil Reynolds, publicly posted "The was has begun! Citizens take arms."
"We will not tolerate, by any means, any type of violence in any community, Republican and Democrats alike," says Assembly Member, Evan Low (D-Cupertino).
Just days after violent protest erupted on Capitol Hill, the California Democratic Assembly member saw this:
Facebook post from Reynolds, inciting violence and calling for civil war.
"This is not just harmless rhetoric, this is incendiary, and this is fundamentally against the principle of our democracy," says Asm. Low.
Reynolds, who's an elected member of Santa Clara County Republican Party's Central Committee, posted the comments just as a mob took over the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the election.
Just days before the violence protest in DC, Reynolds posted photos of himself at a "Stop the Steal" Rally in Los Gatos.
"This is not your average citizen this a public elected representative," Asm. Low.
Reynolds is an air force veteran who previously ran for Campbell City Council & Congress but lost.
He now holds an elected position on the governing body of the country's republican party.
In a statment to KTVU, the party's chairman said, " We denouned the political violence at the Capitol and have been consistent in repudiating political violence and those who would advocate for it."
But Asm. Low says that's not enough.
On Friday, the Silicon Valley leader tweeted this:
Low is calling on the party to denounce the violence.
"It’s important for all stakeholders who have influence to help effectuate change and denounce the violence that we’ve seen in our democracy," says Asm. Low.
Yesterday, the SVGOP tweeted this response to the assemblymember:
The party denounced the violence but not Reynolds.
"If the Repulican party truly believes in the fundamentals of a democracy then they need to speak out," says Asm. Low.
There's no word yet on whether the party will condemn Reynolds or asking him to step down.
Of course, since he's elected officials, it will be left up to his consituents to decide.