GOP Chairman Mann 'Horrified' by Derogatory Tweet

Riverside County Republican Party Chairman Scott Mann said he had the derogatory tweet removed immediately. Menifee 24/7 file photo

Story updated with report naming the person who posted the tweet:

Riverside County GOP Chairman and Menifee Mayor Scott Mann said today he was "horrified" by and took swift action to remove an image sent out on the GOP group's Twitter account showing a hangman and noose with the words "I'm ready for Hillary."

The derogatory tweet aimed at Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was posted by the Riverside County Republican Party's official Twitter account Wednesday afternoon and was removed sometime later in the day, reported the Riverside Press-Enterprise, which posted this image of the tweet a reporter discovered.

Contacted by the Press-Enterprise, Mann said action would be taken against the person responsible for sending out the tweet. Thursday afternoon, the Press-Enterprise reported that Nathan Miller, northwest vice chairman of the county Republican Party, admitted sending the tweet and offered his resignation.

Mann issued a statement via email to Menifee 24/7 in response to an inquiry about the issue.

"I was made aware of the derogatory tweet toward Secretary Clinton when the press called me for comment," Mann wrote in the email. "I was horrified and had the tweet taken down immediately. While some may think it was political satire, it clearly has no place in American political dialogue. As Chairman of the Republican Party of Riverside County, I apologize to everyone and anyone who was offended by it.

"I have taken steps to ensure that the individual who posted the tweet no longer has access and I can assure you the person responsible has been held accountable."

The Press-Enterprise reported that an email sent to the paper from Mann earlier in the day had a much different tone.

"That meme is nothing more than political satire," Mann wrote in the earlier email, according to the Press-Enterprise story. "It simply expresses how Ms. Clinton seemingly has gotten away with every scandal and political flip-flop in her public life – from classified e-mail and Benghazi to her changing positions on health care, TPP, NAFTA, gay marriage, etc."

Mann had no further comment about the incident today.