Oklahoma governor’s staffer faces heat for ‘body bags’ tweet

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A new member of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s communications staff faced fierce criticism Tuesday for a tweet last week in which she praised a national Republican group for putting “House Democrats in body bags.”

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair Alicia Andrews called for Stitt to demand the resignation of Carly Atchison, his new director of strategic communications whose Jan. 5 tweet came one day before last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Five people died in the riot, including a Capitol police officer.

Atchison, a former staffer at the National Republican Congressional Committee, was praising her colleagues after a Fox News article noted that several Democratic House members were not using “gender-neutral” language in their social media profiles, even after new congressional rules replaced such terms.

In response, Atchison tweeted: “It’s January 5 and the @NRCC has already put House Democrats in body bags. Godspeed @dccc.”

Stitt spokesman Charlie Hannema said in an email to The Associated Press the phrase “wasn’t to be taken literally and any insinuation otherwise is ridiculous.”