The former Miss Alabama who called the Dallas cop-killer a “martyr” has been suspended from her job at a TV station.
Kalyn Chapman James was placed on “administrative leave” from Florida station WPBT2 following the controversial comments she made in a two-minute video she posted to Facebook.
The TV station said in a statement: “WPBT2 South Florida PBS does not condone the personal statements made by one of its independent contractors regarding the events in Dallas.”
“It placed the contractor on administrative leave while it actively and carefully looks further into the matter and will determine additional course of actions based on its thorough review of the matter.”
The station added, “We do not condone any suggestion that terrorism is acceptable or that it should be tolerated.”
In the clip, the 1993 Miss Alabama said she doesn’t feel bad for the five Dallas cops who were fatally shot when 25-year-old sniper Micah Xavier Johnson went on a shooting rampage during an anti-police brutality protest last week.
“I’m dealing with a bit of guilt because I don’t feel sad for the officers that lost their lives and I know that that’s not really my heart,” James said in the video, which has been viewed more than 556,000 times since it was posted Sunday.
“I value human life and I want to feel sad for them but I can’t help but feeling like the shooter was a martyr,” she said.
James, in a follow-up Facebook post Tuesday, said she is being “threatened, harassed and called awful names” regarding the comments she made.
The ex-beauty queen clarified her position, saying:
“1. Micah Johnson is NOT a hero.
2. I do not condone violence against anyone – I am against violence. I would like to see an end to black on black crime, white on white crime, black on white crime, white on black crime, ALL killing needs to stop!
3. I want healing and peace for our nation and it will come when we can process our feelings, address the ones that don’t align with our values (like I did) and reach out for help INSTEAD of causing more conflict or taking innocent lives.”