The Lawrence County Republican Party apologized for posting a photo online that contained racist KKK imagery.
The group faced backlash after the image, which featured a GOP-styled elephant. However, a closer inspection reveals the white spaces between the elephant’s legs had been fashioned to look like members of the KKK in hoods.
“I would like to offer a deep and sincere apology for a picture that temporarily appeared on this page last night,” Shanon Terry, an official in the Republican organization, said in a statement.
Terry then pointed the finger firmly at Google.
“A Google search picture of a GOP elephant was used and later found to have hidden images that do not represent the views or beliefs of the Lawrence County Republican Party,” the statement continued. “As chairman, I take full responsibility for the error.”
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels denounced the use of the image. “Shame on the Lawrence County Republican Party for this disgusting image,” Daniels tweeted.
Terry, also a Lawrence County Board of Education member, faced calls for him to step down from his position. He refused.
“I look forward to continuing to strive to give every student in Lawrence County the best opportunity to be successful,” he said. “I regret the mistake that was made, and it was just that- an unintended mistake. The image posted by me on a political Facebook page was not done with any malicious or harmful intent. Once made aware of the negative portion of the picture I immediately replaced it and followed up with an apology/explanation the next day.”
