The posts included comments about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and included language like “I AM ANTIFA”, which led to an outcry from some county residents.
One resident, Kim Petters, says she feared for her safety after Sweeney tagged her in one of his posts, claiming the Commissioner’s large social media following harassed her as a result.
But some commissioners point out Sweeney has been elected several times, indicating constituent support
Commissioner-at-large Terry Pepper says he’s received “very few” complaints about the incident, but still believes Levy Court needs to address the situation.
“I really have mixed feelings about this, but I do think that we do need to address this situation, to rectify the situation, just put it out there that we may be limited at this point as to what we can do, but we can do something.” he said.
The agenda item to consider removing Commissioner Sweeney from committee and liason assignments was added at the behest of Levy Court President Joanne Masten.
“What concerns me the most is the rhetoric being used and the number of comments. Not only that, but the residents that have reached out to me, no matter where I go, [they ask] ‘What are you going to do?’ What residents don’t understand: there’s only so much you can do with elected officials.” she said.
She later noted that she had "tremendous respect" for Sweeney and expressed the emotional difficulty she felt in taking action against him.
Commissioners generally agreed action was necessary to create a precedent for the conduct of elected officials moving forward, but many expressed “mixed feelings,” citing First Amendment concerns and Sweeney’s strong track record.
Sweeney's Facebook account already frequently posted critically against President Donald Trump and his administration. Sweeney recently announced via that same Facebook page that he'd no longer be publicly posting.
Sweeney commented in written form following the meeting,
"Responding to public pressure and discussing my removal from Chair of County committees is disciplinary. Because it is disciplinary from leadership, it should have been handled in an executive session. But, since the agenda was made public on November 10th, it is now a public issue. It is meant to embarrass me in a public forum, and to give a few Levy Court Commissioners to bash me in public to appease their base", he wrote.
Sweeney also noted that his removal from committee and liaison to some community organizations doesn't diminish his advocacy for projects those organizations are promoting.
Masten clarifies that while Sweeney is no longer in his committee roles, he remains in office as the Fifth District Commissioner.
