U.P. Republican backpedals after tweeting 'time for another Kent State'

A Republican leader from Marquette has apologized after suggesting that last week's University of California-Berkeley protests should have solved with a Kent State-style crackdown — the 1970 massacre in which the Ohio National Guard shot four unarmed anti-Vietnam War protesters.

On Thursday, Republican leader and "In the Right Mind" conservative talk show host Dan Adamini took to social media to comment on the UC Berkeley protests. On Twitter, he wrote:

“Violent protesters who shut down free speech? Time for another Kent State perhaps. One bullet stops a lot of thuggery." 

On Facebook, he elaborated ... slightly:

"I'm thinking that another Kent State might be the only solution...They do it because they know there are no consequences yet."

But in an interview with the Free Press' Niraj Warikoo published Sunday, Adamini claims his now-deleted comments have been misinterpreted.

"It was stupid, it was poorly done," Adamini told the Free Press. "But my goal was to stop the violence by protesters, not commit violence against protesters."

He added:

"The point I was trying to make, admittedly I did it very poorly ... was that the violence is really getting out of hand, and much like in the 1960s, the violence created an atmosphere where something terrible and tragic like Kent State could happen."

And:

"We could be headed toward another Kent State tragedy if we don't get a handle on the violence," Adamini said. "It sounds like I was calling for violence, but I was actually trying to call for an end to the violence. ... Some are saying I'm calling for the death of innocent protesters, but nothing could be further from the truth."

The 56-year-old Marquette County Republican Party secretary and host of the radio show "In the Right Mind" said he has received death threats and that callers have asked his show's advertisers to cut their support.

"I never should have tried to say that in 140 characters or in a Facebook post," he said.

No shit.

Some, however, aren't buying Adamini's apology.

“The statements made ... on social media by Dan Adamini are sickening, inhuman and indefensible,” Michigan Democratic Party chair Brandon Dillon said in a statement. "There is no ambiguity or alternative interpretation. To call for 'another Kent State' and declare that 'one bullet stops a lot of thuggery' is to clearly and openly advocate for the murder of unarmed college students, simply because they don’t share his beliefs or point of view."