Name: Here's why a mayor can't be ousted for tweet about George Floyd's death
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Here's why a mayor can't be ousted for tweet about George Floyd's death

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Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutPeople called for Mayor Hal Marx to be ousted for saying he "didn't see anything unreasonable" with the death of George Floyd.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.Please be polite.It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.If you see comments in violation of our , please report them.CLOSEMayor Hal Marx refuses to resign at board of alderman's request over comments about death of George Floyd. Residents also protest, want him out.Petal Mayor Hal Marx set off a firestorm when he&nbsp;tweeted he "didn't see anything unreasonable" with the death of George Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed and prone as a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground, with his knee crushing Floyd's neck, for more than seven minutes.Floyd's death has prompted massive protests in Minneapolis and other cities across the country. Protesters called for justice in smaller demonstrations in Petal and Jackson on Friday.Many of Marx's constituents, other&nbsp;elected officials in Petal and others have called for him to be ousted as mayor of the Mississippi town.However, Marx can't be recalled by popular vote and other ways to kick out a mayor in Mississippi are limited, according to the mayor's attorney, Michael Adelman.Mississippi state law outlines a process — which includes a petition and election — for recalling a county office holder, but it does not apply to mayors, Adelman said.Judges can remove&nbsp;mayors from office for committing felonies or if they are found "to be of unsound mind," state law states."There's no recall procedure (for mayors)&nbsp;that I can find," Adelman said. "Certainly aldermen do not have authority to unilaterally overrule."The Petal Board of Aldermen on Thursday held a special&nbsp;meeting to call for Marx's resignation. Marx refused, saying he "will never surrender to the mob mentality." He has a year left in his term.Protesters gather in Petal to call for mayor's resignationA link has been posted to your Facebook feed. ReplayAldermen are also considering reducing Marx's salary. They voted&nbsp;Thursday to table the motion until they can get an opinion from the Mississippi Attorney General.Adelman said a salary reduction is unlikely for the mayor."I don't find any legal authority to reduce salary because they said something unpopular or stupid or ill informed," Adelman said.Adelman said it boils down to the&nbsp;constitutional right to free speech."I don't agree with the statement, but he's got the right to make the statement," he said.Adelman said Marx does not plan to run for reelection.In a tweet Wednesday that has since been deleted, Marx said: "If you are talking about the incident in MN, I didn't see anything unreasonable. If you can say you can't breathe, you're breathing. Most likely that man died of overdose or heart attack. Video doesn't show his resistance that got him in that position. Police being crucified."A video of Floyd's arrest showed a police officer pinning Floyd's neck to the ground with his knee for at least eight minutes. Floyd pleaded with the officer, saying he couldn't breathe and said his neck and stomach hurt. Floyd was being detained, authorities said, because he matched the description of someone who tried to pay with a counterfeit bill at a convenience store.Police nationwide have .Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was.USA Today contributed to this report.Read or Share this story: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2020/05/29/why-mississippi-mayor-hal-marx-cant-ousted-george-floyd-tweet/5283435002/to help improve our site experience!More Stories

Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutPeople called for Mayor Hal Marx to be ousted for saying he "didn't see anything unreasonable" with the death of George Floyd.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a...

Here's why a mayor can't be ousted for tweet about George Floyd's death

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