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Dems call for county commissioner in Georgia to resign after John Lewis comments

Rep. John Lewis testifies against President-elect Trump's nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 11, 2017. 

Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter waded into controversial territory over the weekend when he wrote a Facebook post calling U.S. Rep. John Lewis -- a civil rights legend already locked in a war of words with President-elect Donald Trump -- a “racist pig.”

The reaction to Hunter, a Republican, taking on Lewis a few days before the holiday honoring the life of counterpart Martin Luther King Jr. was varied, but swift.

A number of people posted comments on Hunter’s Facebook posts to support him. Others did the opposite.

“Mister Hunter is a disgrace to Gwinnett County and Georgia," Gwinnett Democratic Party Chairman Gabe Okoye told WSB-TV." I call on Mister Hunter to resign immediately. I call on all Democrats to contact Mister Hunter with the same message.”

Hunter says he didn't mean for the post to be derogatory.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.