Saline Co. Republican elected officials release statement after fists thrown at party meeting

SALINE COUNTY, Ark. – A joint letter by Republican elected officials of Saline County takes a strong stand against the county Republican Party’s leadership after a video of an altercation at a party meeting went viral.

The Friday afternoon letter signed by officials calling for the state Republican Party of Arkansas to remove the Saline County Republican Party’s leadership. The letter is signed by 20 elected officials, including county Judge Matt Brumley and Sheriff Rodney Wright, and the county’s 12 justices of the peace.

The altercation came after a shouting argument Thursday night at the county party’s meeting that ended with a thrown punch. The video shows others rushing to break up that altercation after the punch was thrown.

“Last night’s Saline County Republican Committee meeting devolved into chaos, culminating in a physical altercation between two individuals, along with heated verbal exchanges among others throughout the room,” the letter states.

The group then takes the county party leadership to task.

“As the Republican Elected Officials of Saline County, we categorically reject not only the disgraceful actions of these individuals but also the toxic culture fostered by the leadership of the Saline County Republican Committee,” the letter reads.

The letter asks the state party to “take immediate action” to remove the county party’s leadership.

The letter also calls out “behavior that is shameful and embarrassing” by the county party leadership for over a year. It also refers to what it calls “a radical faction” within the county party “to tarnish the values we hold dear.”

In the last two years, the Republican Party of Saline County has repeatedly been in the news for its activism in social-conservative causes such as library regulation.

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