A small-town police
chief who recorded a series of foul-mouthed Youtube videos ranting about
John Kerry and the UN and firing his automatic weapon, has been fired.
Mark Kessler had
already been suspended for 30 days for posting the profanity-laced pro-gun
videos. Now Gilberton Borough Council, in Pennsylvania, has voted to sack him
from his role in the community.
Kessler has
acknowledged that his videos are inflammatory, but he told NBC News they were
designed to draw attention to what he sees as the erosion of the USA's Second
Amendment and the freedom of speech.
He said it was his
'right' and 'freedom' to make the videos, in which he repeatedly fires the
borough-owned automatic weapon. He told NBC Philadelphia after
being fired: 'I feel in my heart I'm doing the right thing.'
Several Kessler
supporters showed up at the hearing yesterday, most were members of his
'Constitution Security Force' - his pro-gun group. One member got into an
argument with an opponent, according to the news service.
In the hearing,
Kessler's lawyer, Joseph Nahas, claimed the charges brought against his client
were inflated to justify his dismissal for the videos, said NBC News.
In one video, he
claims to be apologising for using offensive language in a previous video. He
then says he's kidding, tells people who were offended to 'go f*** yourself'
and then fires founds from a machine gun.
In another video, he
complains about Secretary of State John Kerry, the United Nations and other
'libtards' and 'p******' he claims are trying to take his guns.
After firing more
rounds from a machine gun, he invites the 'libtards' to 'come and get it.'
Kessler was suspended
in July for improper use of state purchasing programme, failing to submit
required crime data and making derogatory comments about borough officials.
After the hearing
Nahas declined the offer to comment, NBC News said.
When the videos first
surfaced last month, Gilberton Mayor Mary Lou Hannon said she found the
language in the videos offensive and she understood that others did as well.
'I think it's
blackened our eye a little, but we are a strong community,' Hannon said at the
time. 'We will go on from here.'
Officials have said
that Kessler bought the weapons with his own money and donated them to the
police department, an action approved by the council. Kessler told PennLive.com
on Wednesday that he also donated the ammunition used in the videos.