EXCLUSIVE: Henderson Councilwoman apologizes for posts about former President Trump: 'I'm sorry'

HENDERSON, N.C. (WTVD) -- Councilwoman Geraldine Champion has regrets after posting online that the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was staged. She called it fake news because people in the audience did not run away.

"I felt like Mr. Trump had orchestrated this for the purpose of getting more votes. I did not believe he had been shot. The public official didn't make that statement. The private citizen did," said Champion. "The piece I'm sorry about is I didn't wait until I got the full report."

Champion only wanted to speak with ABC11 Eyewitness News to clear her name. She took to Facebook because he was frustrated and wrote four posts. In one post, she wrote, "now the taxpayers have to pay for a fake shooting he staged."

"I never would have said that statement if I had waited just a little longer to find out that there was a tragedy that happened and the tragedy was someone losing their whole life," she said.

Champion, 62, has only served on the city council for six months and said since her remarks, her Facebook page has been hacked. She's also received backlash in the form of anonymous callers.

Henderson City Council called an emergency meeting Wednesday to adopt a new policy for elected officials using personal or professional social media platforms. It said they should consider their posts as public records and they should not violate existing city policies and bylaws.

"We continue to stand with her," said Henderson resident John Miles. "Nobody in Henderson has asked for her resignation. The person who asked for her resignation is a person who stays in the county. They can't vote in the city,"

Champion has no plans of removing her comments from Facebook. Instead, she has restricted the public's access. She also will not resign. She is looking forward to continuing to serve the community.

She offered words to the family of the man who was killed.

"My condolences to the family and I pray they heal," she said.

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