Rocky Mount Today

Geraldine Champion, a councilman for the city of Henderson, made posts on her Facebook account after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump saying that "taxpayers have to pay for a fake shooting he organized."

The posts, shared in screenshots on X by Libs of TikTok, were made on her personal Facebook account. "FAKE NEWS," Champion said. "First thing we gonna do is run. Nobody ran really!"

"Now the taxpayers have to pay for a fake shooting he organized," she wrote. 

The city council of Henderson called an emergency council meeting in response to the comments. Despite many residents calling for an apology and resignation from Champion, the result of the emergency meeting was an approved social media policy for council members, which calls for council members to be "honest and accurate" when posting online. 

Regarding the posts from Champion, fellow council member Gary Daeke said "I don't think that kind of discourse is good for the public because it breeds more hatred and anger."

An attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was made at a Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13. Secret Service members moved Trump off the stage after shots were fired on him while speaking at the rally. A bullet grazed the former president’s ear, but he was otherwise unharmed. 

A local Pennsylvania firefighter was killed in the audience, and two other audience members were critically wounded. 

The shooter, 20 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed during the incident. FBI agents were able to identify him by tracing the rifle he used, which had been legally purchased by his father. 

Trump was able to travel and arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, which kicked off on Monday, July 15. 

Champion has refused to give a statement about the situation.