August 15, 2017
Source/Facebook
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh posted this photo of herself with Donald Trump in November 2016.
Following the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, the top law enforcement official in Chester County apparently agreed this week that white supremacists, Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan pose no threat to property or human life.
A Facebook account for Carolyn Bunny Welsh, the county sheriff, was one of about 1,100 that "liked" a Facebook post from Monday stating that sentiment. It also stated that Black Lives Matter and the far-left Antifa movement do pose such a threat.
"The reason why the KKK, Neo-Nazis, and white supremacists are so freely called out and condemned by politicians, while Black Lives Matter, and Antifa aren't, is because the KKK, Neo-Nazis and white supremacist pose no real imminent threat to property, and human life ; Antifa, and BLM , Do," reads the full post from Kevin Martin, who identifies on social media as being a conservative from Pennsylvania who works with President Donald Trump's administration.
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh gave Kevin Martin's Facebook post the “thumbs-up.”
Martin published the post Monday night, two days after a car rammed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally on Saturday in downtown Charlottesville, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring more than 20 others. Hours later, a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed into the woods outside the city, killing the two troopers aboard. The helicopter had been deployed to keep watch over the violent clash of protesters in the city, according to the Associated Press.
Reached for comment early Tuesday afternoon, a woman who answered the phone in the sheriff’s office replied, “Boy, it must be a slow news day,” before saying she thought Welsh had left for the day, but would be given the message. The sheriff did not call back.
Oh no! Chester County PA Sheriff, Bunny Welsh, @carolyn_bunny "likes" racist Facebook post. #anothersheriffarpaio @maddow @Morning_Joe pic.twitter.com/IwbrQGBNNL
— Gina Arasin (@arasinga) August 15, 2017
Also on Monday, social media users captured and circulated a post they say came from Welsh's Facebook account. Screenshots show a picture of what appears to be Welsh with a book in her lap titled "The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left."
"I know, I know, I haven't finished reading "The Swamp" by Eric Bolling. But I couldn't resist picking this up at Costco for $16.99," it read.
Although users shared and reacted to the post after the Charlottesville incident, it is not clear when Welsh allegedly posted it. The book, written by political commentator and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, was published on July 31.
Chester Cty PA Sheriff Carolyn Bunny Welsh is despicable to use the Cltville terrorist attack as an opp 2 poke fun & push buttons. #shameful pic.twitter.com/VG0t4LQImI
— Jessica Lynn-Lato (@Jettlynnlato) August 14, 2017
How to attack white supremacy at the ballot box? Local elections! Like C. Bunny Welsh Chester county sheriff in PA pic.twitter.com/JqhriZFxmE
— Bull's Horns (@ReadyForward) August 14, 2017
for the latest edition of "Why Trump Won the PA Suburbs" here's a Facebook post by Sheriff Bunny Welsh, of Chester County pic.twitter.com/gpmYbryqaE
— local boy 🌹 (@therealtmcg) August 14, 2017
Bunny Welsh sheriff of Ches Co, PA proudly posted a picture of herself reading this book Sunday. Deleted it but the internet is forever. https://t.co/7wHGHrQgLE
— Dianne Salerni (@diannesalerni) August 14, 2017
The post no longer appears on Welsh's Facebook page.
One user tweeted a screenshot of the post at two Republican congressmen from Pennsylvania, Ryan Costello and Pat Meehan, asking if they condemn it.
@RepMeehan @RepRyanCostello-u condemn CC Sheriff Bunny Welsh for her callous response to Nazi carnage in #Charlottesville? @DailyLocalNews pic.twitter.com/oyu1COVUFu
— Indivisible Berks (@IndivisiblBerks) August 14, 2017
Welsh, of Chadds Ford, became the first female Chester County sheriff when she was elected in 1999.
The alleged driver of the silver Dodge Challenger in Charlottesville, 20-year-old James Alex Fields, had reportedly attended the rally and sympathized with Nazism.
The rally had been set to protest Charlottesville's plan to remove a statue of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee in a public park.
