Full text of Censure Letter sent to Franklin County DA Matt Fogal

19 Aug 2020

Matthew D. Fogal, District Attorney

Dear Mr. Fogal:

The purpose of this letter is to deliver an official censure for your activities in support of the radical and violent movement “Black Lives Matter.”  Also for your encouragement of Franklin County Citizens to support those who oppose the re-election of our President, Donald J. Trump.  These activities are outlined in your letter to Franklin County citizens dated 7 June 2020.  Your subsequent visit with our party executive committee only served to reinforce our concerns that you have departed from the sensible conservative views of the vast majority of your fellow citizens.  We have also taken into consideration comments made in both The Philadelphia Inquirer article of 13 June 2020 and The New York Times article of 15 July 2020.  These papers do not reflect the views of conservative Republicans nor are they a local paper of record.

In your letter you stated, “These times are truly unprecedented and silence is acquiescence.”  For those of us who value truth and our national heritage, to be silent in response to your misguided action is more than mere acquiescence.  It would be a betrayal of the vast majority of Franklin County citizens who value law and order.

You also stated that “all lives matter” was wrong and part of the problem.  We strongly disagree with your view.  There is no more inclusive statement than “all lives matter.”

Black Lives Matter is not about the preservation of people’s lives of any color.  If it were, you would see them on the front lines fighting for those innocent people being murdered by the hundreds in largely Black on Black crime in our major cities.  Instead, Black Lives Matter is a self-admitted Marxist revolutionary group dedicated to the dissolution of America, its heritage and its culture, including the nuclear family.  I believe you have previously emphasized the importance of family in our society as it relates to law enforcement matters.  In order to carry out their mission, BLM engages in a common totalitarian tactic known as “The Big Lie.”  They endlessly repeat the vicious falsehood that law enforcement is engaging in deliberate violence toward Black men.  Studies conducted by non-partisan entities such as the National Academy of Sciences show this is not the case.  Your willful repeating of that falsehood and the allegations of “systemic racism”, especially considering your position as Franklin County District Attorney, make your actions especially troubling.

Your call for county Republicans to turn against our President is equally misguided.  Our opponents in November, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, stand shoulder to shoulder with the lawless revolutionaries who are burning, looting, and murdering across our nation.  Many wonder what would happen if such violence would come to Franklin County at the hands of those who you now support.  Would our police be able to do their jobs?  Would they constantly have to wonder if our District Attorney had their backs?  If private citizens were forced to defend themselves from mob violence, would you stand up for their rights?  Or should we expect actions similar to those taken against the McCloskey family in St. Louis?

The Franklin County Republican Party embraced you after your switch from an Independent to a Republican after the death of our District Attorney in 2009.  You have enjoyed running unopposed for your office since.  Your recent actions can only be seen as a betrayal of those who have given you their support, and the 72% of Franklin County voters (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents) who gave President Trump their votes in 2016.

It is clear to us that your positions have removed you from any association with Franklin County Republicans.  Therefore, the Franklin County Republican Party is withdrawing support for you and any future office you may seek.

Respectfully,

Allen B. Coffman

Chairman

Franklin County Republican Committee