The sheriff of Nevada’s Douglas County issued an open letter telling the county’s librarians they shouldn’t call 911 for help if they support the Black Lives Matter movement and good luck dealing with “lewd behavior and disturbances” on your own, according to USA Today.
Sheriff Daniel J. Coverley’s comments on Monday were a response to an upcoming meeting at which the library board planned to consider publishing a statement in support of diversity and inclusion. That meeting has since been canceled.
The draft statement denounces “all acts of violence, racism and disregard for human rights.” It reads in part: “We support #BlackLivesMatter. We resolutely assert and believe that all forms of racism, hatred, inequality and injustice don’t belong in our society.”
Coverley, angered by their denouncement decided to write a statement of his own, and was published on the sheriff’s website on Monday,
“Due to your support of Black Lives Matter and the obvious lack of support or trust with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, please do not feel the need to call 911 for help,” Coverley wrote. “I wish you good luck with disturbances and lewd behavior, since those are just some of the recent calls my office has assisted you with in the past.”
Coverley condemned both the library and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Numerous Black Lives Matter protests have resulted in violence, property damage and the closing of local businesses, sometimes permanently,” he wrote. “To support this movement is to support violence and to openly ask for it to happen in Douglas County.”