A West Virginia lawmaker who is a delegate at this week's Republican National Convention insists his tweet calling for Hillary Clinton's public execution by hanging was only "hyperbole" and should not to be taken seriously.
In the tweet, which has since been deleted since it was posted Friday, Mike Folk said Clinton "should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the US Constitution … then hung on the Mall in Washington D.C."
Folk, a member of the House of Delegates and a pilot for United Airlines, told
The Guardian he still wanted Clinton to be tried in court, but he doesn't want her executed.
"It could have been said a little bit better. I regret the tone, and the second part of that tweet. The biggest misconception is that for some reason, everybody thinks I made a death threat, which I did not. Clearly it was not that," Folk said.
Folk told the newspaper he sent out the tweet on Friday after viewing a video of testimony before a U.S. House committee over Clinton's use of a private email server for sensitive government as secretary of state.
"I watch something like that that gets me riled up, I usually just sleep on it and maybe do something the next day. I should have done that," said Folk, who is seeking a third term in the West Virginia House.
United Airlines has removed Folk from his piloting duties pending an investigation.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.