Judge denies Tommy Hunter lawsuit against ethics board

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A judge has shot down a lawsuit from Tommy Hunter against the Gwinnett County Ethics Board following their ruling to reprimand Hunter due to a post he made on Facebook, according to Seth Weathers, Hunter's spokesman.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter will be publicly reprimanded for calling U.S. Representative John Lewis a "racist pig" on Facebook.

The decision for the reprimand became known at a Gwinnett County Commissioners' meeting where the public was allowed to express their concerns about Hunter's post.

Weathers released the following statement to FOX 5 after the judge shot down the lawsuit:

"They call them activist judges for a reason. We were prepared for this and will be moving forward with additional legal measures. If they think they can deter us or make this go away, they are badly mistaken. The 1st Amendment is still law of the land, with the exception of Gwinnett."

READ: Gwinnett commissioner won't resign after 'racist' Facebook comments

The reprimand will follow the recommendation of the Gwinnett County's ethics board, who voted earlier in June to sustain the complaint against Hunter.

The details of the reprimand are not currently known. The public reprimand will involve posting a written rebuke on the county's website, on the wall of the courthouse, and in the local newspaper.

MORE: Commissioner Tommy Hunter appears in court after calling John Lewis a 'racist pig'

Nancy Turner filed the complaint against Hunter in February.

Hunter apologized for the comments in January, but said he would not resign. Commissioner Tommy Hunter later sent his full remarks to FOX 5 News reading:

“Many of you are here in response to my personal Facebook comments that were shared in the media over the last 24 hours.  I understand emotions are high and many are upset about the post.  I apologize for the choice of words I made about Congressman John Lewis.  John Lewis as a leader of the civil rights movement is to be commended and emulated.  That doesn’t mean that I will always agree with him politically.  I will not allow baseless accusations of racism against me or anyone to keep people from speaking up when something is wrong. I have learned a lot from this and will continue to work hard to serve all of District 3 and the people of Gwinnett County.”

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Dozens of Gwinnett County residents spoke out in January's Gwinnett County Commission meeting, demanding Commissioner Tommy Hunter resign.

READ: Residents demand commissioner resign after calling John Lewis 'racist pig'