Tommy Hunter, Georgia Commissioner, Calls Civil Rights Icon John Lewis 'A Racist Pig'

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, was called "a racist pig" in a Facebook post by a white, Republican commissioner in the state. Tommy Hunter, a member of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, made the accusations Saturday after Lewis said he would boycott Donald Trump's inauguration, sparking an online row.

"John Lewis is a racist pig," Hunter wrote, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Hunter continued: "Like I heard Rush, I believe, say, Democrats do not live in reality. They believe the polls were right and the real votes were wrong. What a bunch of idiots."

In a successive post made Sunday afternoon, he added: "John Lewis's district is drawn to keep him in power. His wins are illegitimate. How can other reps be concerned about working with him." However, he also reportedly deleted both the posts when they started spreading across the internet.

Hunter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that his "racist pig" comment was "probably an overreaction out of aggravation." But he stood by his other comments.

Hunter, who is the vice-president of an environmental testing firm in Gwinnett County, is in charge of the district that is around 25 miles northeast from Lewis' 5th congressional district in Atlanta.

Lewis, who was one of the "Big Six" of civil rights in the 1960s, along with Martin Luther King Jr., told NBC News on Friday: "I don't see this President-elect as a legitimate president. I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton."

He added: "You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong."

Trump responded furiously to Lewis on Twitter, saying he "should spend more time fixing his horrible and crime-infested district," and said he was "All talk, talk, talk - no action or results."