Dan Adamini, former chair of the Marquette County Republicans and host of the radio show “In the Right Mind” on WDMJ/WIAN, said the post, shown above, was misconstrued.

“What I was trying to get across, apparently very poorly, is that the violence at the college campus in Berkeley was reminiscent of the violence on college campuses in the ’60s,” Adamini said. “I fear that if we cannot get a handle on the violence, we might see the same type of tragic end.”

In 1970, four people were killed and nine were injured when authorities opened fire at Kent State University in Ohio during a protest of the Cambodian Campaign of the Vietnam War.

Protests broke out on the Berkeley campus earlier this week, as students called for the cancellation of a planned speech by right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulous.

ADAMINI

The Associated Press reports the protests resulted in violent actions, including smashed windows, fires and protesters hurling “explosives” at authorities.

When questioned about his use of the word “solution,” Adamini said he meant it was a possible solution to the protests, but not the only or best route.

“My fear is that if the violence doesn’t stop, that will be the solution,” he said. “I was not calling for violence against the protesters. I was calling for a stop to the violence by the protesters.”

In response to the post, a large number of individuals took to social media, criticizing Adamini’s choice of words and alleged solicitation of violence.

Jason Chapman, chair of the Marquette County Democratic Party, said he was shocked and disgusted by the post.

In Adamini’s Facebook post, also from Thursday evening, the phrase “Portage acacian” means poor education, Adamini noted. (Screenshot by Justin Marietti)

“It’s highly irresponsible for an officer of the Marquette County Republican Party to suggest that authorities kill anyone,” Chapman said.

Chapman said he first saw the post on Facebook, and then took to Twitter to verify Adamini’s position.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt,’ but then I looked on Twitter and it was pretty apparent to me he meant what he said in plain English,” he said. “It’s not a matter to joke about. It would be a disastrous result.”

Doreen Takalo, a member of the Marquette County Republican Party, said the situation is unfortunate.

“The majority of us do not advocate for violence,” she said, adding that she doesn’t believe ” he meant it exactly the way he said it.”

Takalo said she expects the group to discuss the incident and decide together how to best address it.

“We’ve always been a peaceful group,” she said. “I’m really sorry that this happened, and I understand people being upset.”

As of about 9 a.m. this morning, Marquette County Republican Party Chair Brendan Biolo was not aware of the situation.

“I’m not on Facebook,” he said. “I never look at it … I think it should be outlawed.”

Adamini said he’s sorry “people are upset.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t word it better,” he said. “My intent was not a call to violence. My intent was to place a call to stop the violence. I take the blame for wording it very poorly.”

Adamini said he’s deactivated his personal Facebook account due to all of the hateful messages he’s received.

“My personal Facebook page is for family … I don’t want them seeing that,” he said. “But my show page, In the Right Mind MQT, is still up and running. People can vent their hatred there.”

Kelsie Thompson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is kthompson@miningjournal.net.