The mayor of a small city in Colorado has sparked outrage after he banned the Pledge of Allegiance from public meetings, KDVR reports.
Shane Fuhrman, mayor of Silverton, announced the controversial decision over the quintessentially American pledge during a trustee meeting last week.
He claimed the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance had led to threats and divisions among locals in the town, which has a population of 550.
"Due to direct and indirect threats, inappropriate comments in and out of public meetings, and the general divisiveness this is creating in our community, we will not be doing the Pledge of Allegiance during town of Silverton board of trustee meetings," he said, per the outlet.
Fuhrman, who didn't expand on the threats made, said he was suspending the pledge "until such time that we can discuss this at a board retreat or workshop."
Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert later shared footage of the trustee meeting on Twitter, blasting the move.
She wrote: "It’s hard to put into words what kind of anti-American disgrace this is."
The publication also states that the move was slammed by Molly Barela, a trustee of the remote town and attendee of the meeting. She claims the "unilateral decision" was made without board approval.
Fuhrman argued in response: "If you’d like to find somewhere in the code that does not permit me to do this, I welcome that discussion at our next meeting."
Despite his proposal, an attendee insisted she wanted to stand for the pledge during the public comments section of the meeting.
And several other attendees including Barela joined her as they recited the patriotic pledge. Per The Journal, Fuhrman scolded the defiant attendees, saying: "I’m not going to ask everyone to leave tonight, but if something like that happens again I will."
Barela has since told KDVR that "to tell members of the public they are not allowed to say the Pledge of Allegiance during public comment and threaten to have them removed, that it was one strike and you’re out policy, violates every single one of their First Amendment rights."