Civil Air Patrol Chief Reinstated After Calling Lawmaker 'B---h' And Making Lynching Threat

An officer in Kansas' Civil Air Patrol was reinstated Monday after making controversial lynching remarks to a Republican state representative on Facebook. The officer didn't agree with with the decision of Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Kan., to forbid colleges and universities from carrying concealed weapons, a decision Clayton formerly backed.

Jonathan Holder, the lieutenant who issued the controversial comments, initially resigned from his position in January 2017. Holder may be reinstated, but he has chosen not to participate at this time. He reportedly remains inactive.

"This b---h needs to swing from a tree for violating her oath," Holden wrote in a Facebook post, according to Kansas-based publication Topeka Capital-Journal. Holder's comments came days after Clayton introduced the concealed weapon legislation to Kansas state colleges and universities.

"I've heard from many legislators who are happy that it has been introduced," Clayton said in January 2017, according to the Kansas City Star. "This might even be from legislators who oppose it, who want it to have that public hearing and want it to have its sort of day in court."

"It used to just be some people who are licensed. Now it’s everyone. That's the reason I think this deserves that second hearing, that second opportunity for legislators to consider this. The debate needs to be had again," Clayton added.

Under Kansas law, schools like the University of Kansas (UK) and Kansas State University (KSU) were permitted to allow concealed weapons on campus grounds. This law would give most adults over 21 years of age the right to carry handguns on campus as early as July 2017, even if they were unlicensed. Schools were reportedly given four years to adequately prepare for the policy change. However, Clayton's legislation, if legitimized, would prove to be a permanent law.

"We begin our fall semester on Monday, and many of you have expressed concerns about the recent change in Kansas' Personal and Family Protection Act affecting concealed carry on campus," Neeli Bendapudi, the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of UK, wrote on the college's website Aug. 18. "I know several of you are anxious over this change in law, and it's important to be clear what we are and are not allowed to do in this new environment."

Clayton's decision to switch her stance on the open carry policy didn't please Holder. Holder defended his death-related remarks.

"I stand by what I said and frankly don't care who doesn't like it," he said, according to a January report from Topeka Capital-Journal.

A representative for the Civil Air Patrol and Stephanie Clayton did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.

Gun control has become a controversial subject matter in the United States. It has divided the country on what should be done to promote gun safety. The shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and claimed the lives of several students and staffers first initiated the debate of whether guns should be permitted on school grounds.

Sandy Hook teachers wrote a letter to Pennsylvania's Senate regarding the possibility of allowing guns in schools statewide. The staffers believed that it wouldn't aid in the safety of those under its protection.

"We are educators who survived that fateful day in December 14, 2012. We would like to make something clear," the letter read, according to Pennsylvania Senator Daylin Leach. "We would not have wanted that option, nor would it have made us or our students any safer. In fact, it might've made things worse."