Councilwoman who berated teens about Trump T-shirt is charged with disorderly conduct
The teenage girls were waiting in line at a Houston area cookie shop Saturday night when the woman one father described as a tall, short-haired blond woman approached.
“Grab ’em by the [expletive], girls!” she yelled at them, according to KPRC.
One of the girls was wearing a “Trump: Make America Great Again” T-shirt.
“Then, she yells it again!” the father, who wanted to remain anonymous to keep his daughter’s name out of the news, told the station. “At that point the girls were getting kind of scared, and then the woman starts, you, know, going, ‘MAGA! MAGA! MAGA!’ while shaking her fist.”
The town, nestled in an affluent pocket of central Houston, is West University Place. It was the fifth-wealthiest town in the U.S. in 2015, according to USA Today.
The woman who berated the teens has been identified as West U Councilwoman Kellye Burke.
One of the teens’ mothers took to social media to try to find out who would verbally attack a group of teenage girls, and found video of the incident, which led her to Burke, according to West University Essentials magazine.
West University police referred the complaint to the Harris County Constable’s Office, Precinct One, which cited Burke on Thursday for disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine if she is convicted.
Burke issued a statement to KPRC Thursday that was sort of an apology, but also sort of not:
“I have repeatedly apologized for the bad judgment I used and making the statement that I did, but I do not believe repeating the words of the President of the United States is a crime. However, I will apologize again on behalf of myself, the President of the United States and all the media outlets who repeated his words both electronically and in print.”
West University Place Mayor Susan Sample also released a statement, which read in part:
“The reported comments definitely do not speak for the City of West University Place’s government or employees. My position as Mayor, however, does not afford me any official authority with respect to matters such as this. I am glad to know that this councilmember, who was independently elected by our city voters, is taking responsibility for her own actions and has reached out to the affected families to apologize for her remarks. This incident is a reminder that part of our responsibility as elected officials is to set a good example of civil discourse for those we represent, particularly our young people.”
Burke was elected to the City Council in May 2017.
This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 8:39 AM with the headline "Councilwoman who berated teens about Trump T-shirt is charged with disorderly conduct."