Sandy MaloneMarshall, AR – The police chief of Marshall resigned on Saturday after writing a series of social media posts advocating violence against Democrats.
Marshall Mayor Kevin Elliott said now-former Marshall Police Chief Lang Holland apologized to him and submitted his resignation on Nov. 7, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
Elliott confirmed that Chief Holland had written a posts on Parler and condemned their contents.
Parler is a social media platform that President Donald Trump’s supporters have flocked to in recent months as Facebook and Twitter began censoring more posts deemed inaccurate by their fact-check machines.
“Parler is the solution to problems that have surfaced in recent years due to changes in Big Tech policy influenced by various special-interest groups,” the company’s website said. “Parler is built upon a foundation of respect for privacy and personal data, free speech, free markets, and ethical, transparent corporate policy.”
Conservative talk show host Dan Bongino is a big investor in the platform.
Blue Lives Matter also has a Parler page which can be followed by people on the platform.
Screenshots of the posts began circulating on Facebook and Twitter on Nov. 6 and sparked outrage in the community, KATV reported.
“When this is over and Trump is president for 4 more years. Do not go to sleep. Do not forget what these Marxist Democrat b—hes have tried to do. When you see one in public get in their face do not give them peace. Throw water on them at restaurants. Push them off sidewalks. Never let them forget they are traitors and have no right to live in this Republic after what they have done,” Chief Holland ranted in one post.
(1/n) These are screenshots made from the Parler social media app, posts by Marshall, AR police chief Lang Holland.
“Death to all Marxist Democrats. Take no prisoners leave no survivors!”
“Throw water on them in restaurants. Push them off sidewalks.” @KATVNews #ARnews pic.twitter.com/oXCFrnJj6T
— Viktoria Capek (@KATVViktoria) November 7, 2020
He also commented in response to a meme that advocated eliminating “the fraudsters,” The Washington Post reported.
“Death to all Marxist Democrats. Take no prisoners leave no survivors!!” the chief posted.
“Maybe I should look to moving to Poland and trying to get citizenship,” Chief Holland posited in another post. “The Poles are a lot smarter than the Marxist Bolshevik Democrats who infest America.”
He also shared a meme of former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) wearing orange prison jumpsuits, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
“I pray all those in that picture hang on the gallows and are drawn and quartered!!!!” the now-former police chief captioned the meme. “Anything less is not acceptable.”
Chief Holland wrote that patriotic Americans should show no mercy to those who followed the Democratic Party and said they should destroy their homes and lives and “run them out of this country.”
When the screenshots of the post first went viral, the police chief claimed that they weren’t written by him, KATV reported.
It appeared he created a second Parler account that claimed to be “the real chief” and said the other account that posted the other messages was fake and didn’t represent him who was a “protector of all citizens.”
But by Saturday evening, both Parler accounts were gone and the Marshall Police Department’s official Facebook page had also been deactivated, KATV reported.
“The Marshall community does not in any way support or condone bullying or threats of violence to anyone of any political persuasion! We condemn it!” the mayor said in a statement released on Saturday afternoon. “We are a welcoming community that is humbly working to build a bright future for ALL our citizens, whether they be long-term residents or new arrivals. Any statements to the contrary do NOT reflect the values of Marshall.”
Chief Holland had been police chief in Marshall, a town with a population of 1,355 people, for the past two years, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
His resignation from the three-man department was effective immediately.
The mayor said now-former Chief Holland was the best police chief he’d worked with in Marshall, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
“He’s done excellent. I’ve been with the city of Marshall for 26 years and, by far, he’s been the best police chief that I’ve ever seen,” Elliott said.
He said he hadn’t had to ask the chief for his resignation, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
“I called in the Arkansas Municipal League [and] my attorneys, [and] I got some advice on the steps I need to take and the proper direction I need to go. I called Mr. Holland in, and he resigned as police chief,” Elliott said.
Prior to becoming the top cop in Marshall, former Chief Holland was a deputy for almost 15 years with the Searcy County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
He received a Medal of Valor from the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association after he was shot in the line of duty while responding to a hostage incident in 2014.
Holly Matkin
