A judge has rejected an appeal by an official in northern Michigan to a recall petition levied against him after he refused to apologize for sharing anti-Muslim Facebook posts.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Judge George Mertz this week denied the request from Kalkaska Village President Jeff Sieting at a hearing in 46th Circuit Court. The Kalkaska County Election Commission in December approved the proposed language.
Sieting shared Facebook posts that called for the killing of "every last Muslim" and for nuclear weapons to be used on the world's 10-largest Muslim-majority cities. The petition also alleged Sieting voted to approve a budget that had a $500,000 deficit.
Sieting disputed the language concerning the budget and has said he didn't intend to create a public outcry. He could appeal the decision.
