WAUKESHA, Wis. — Waukesha County Supervisor Robert Kolb called for the "public execution" of former chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci on Facebook, then removed the post — prompting calls and emails to TMJ4 News.
The post came after Fauci testified Wednesday on Capitol Hill regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, invoking his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times.
Kolb's Facebook post read: "Fauci must be publicly executed!"
After deleting the post, Kolb wrote in another Facebook comment on his page: "I stated that Fauci should be executed for his crimes…. I guess these people think I am going to be upset & bothered by these phone calls. I couldn't be laughing any harder."
TMJ4 News reporter Rebecca Klopf called Kolb about the post. He repeatedly declined to comment on any of her questions, including whether he stood by the post and why he removed it.
Pewaukee resident Sam Liebert was among those who reached out to TMJ4 News after seeing the post.
"I would say I reached out because I'm a concerned citizen," Liebert said. "I think no matter what your politics, no matter what you believe, we should all agree that political violence is not right.”
TMJ4 News also reached out to all 25 county supervisors by phone or email. Of the three Klopf was able to reach by phone, Supervisor Steve Styza said, “no comment," Supervisor Wayne Euclide said he "disagrees with anyone who wants to kill someone,” and Supervisor Joe O'Brien said he "does not support political violence.”
Waukesha County Board Chair Jim Heinrich and newly appointed County Executive Tom Farley both condemned the social media post.
“The County Board was recently made aware of a social media post published by one of our board members on their personal account containing rhetoric that promotes political violence,” said Chairman Heinrich. “This post was made in a personal capacity and does not reflect the official position, values, or mission of the Waukesha County Board. I want to be unequivocally clear: calling for or encouraging political violence is completely unacceptable. It goes against everything we stand for and fundamentally undermines the core principles of safety, respect, and constructive dialogue,” said Heinrich in a statement.
“I strongly condemn the recent social media post made by a member of the County Board. The language and message reflected in that post are inconsistent with the values of respect, civility, and public service that our residents expect from county government,” said Farley in a statement.
Supervisor Brian Meier said that the county chair’s statement reflect the board’s comments on the matter.
Heinrich's office said Kolb is not in violation of the county's social media policy because the comments were made through a private account. Though Kolb could face censure, no supervisor has started that process.
Liebert said he would like to see action taken.
"These are our county board reps who represent a very small part of the community and all their districts, and they need to be held accountable just like anyone else should," Liebert said.
Liebert said he plans to attend the next county board meeting on August 25, calling for Supervisor Kolb to resign.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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