Councilwoman Resigns After Allegedly Telling Trump Supporter to Kill Herself

An Oklahoma councilwoman has resigned following a controversial Facebook encounter with a supporter of President Donald Trump.

According to KOKH and The Oklahoman, city councilwoman Bree Montoya, who served the third ward of Norman — located about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City — resigned on Tuesday, Sept. 23, during a city council meeting.

“In various capacities, I have served this community since 2008 and I am ready to pursue other interests. Effective immediately, I am resigning as council member for Ward 3,” Montoya said during the meeting, per the outlets. “Thank you, Ward 3. It’s been an honor to serve.”

Attendees could be heard clapping after her announcement in a video of the meeting obtained by KOCO 5.

Montoya’s resignation came after a Facebook post she shared in June garnered attention online, nearly three months after it was first posted.

According to KOKH, Montoya was arguing with a woman, identified as Audra Abbott, about the number of attendees in a crowd at a “No Kings” event — held around the U.S. to protest Trump’s administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on June 14, to coincide with a military parade to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary.

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A screenshot of the now-deleted exchange obtained by the Daily Mail shows that after Abbott sarcastically commented, “I’m sure you were taking attendance” at the protest, Montoya allegedly wrote back, “Open a vein.”

“Go on, put a gun in your mouth and pull the trigger,” Montoya added.

“I saw that she was a city council member within moments of her posting it and I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe an elected official would talk like that online,’ ” Abbott told KOKH.

“No one at city hall, none of the people on city council seemed to be concerned with any of it,” Abbott added.

The comments began to garner attention online several weeks later, and conservative activists called for Montoya to be removed from office.

Montoya also shared an apology on her Facebook page before making her account private, per the Daily Mail.

“I want to apologize for comments I made from my personal Facebook account a few months ago,” she wrote. “There are no words to express how awful, inappropriate and unacceptable my comments were.”

The former councilwoman added that the argument “got way out of hand,” and she said she was “completely out of line,” per the Daily Mail.

“I was immediately disgusted with myself and knew I had crossed an unimaginable line. I sent a direct apology soon after,” she wrote. “To those I’ve hurt and are disappointed in me, I am truly sorry. I humbly ask your forgiveness.”

At the recent city council meeting, local residents expressed dismay at how the situation was handled, and they advocated for more rules to be put in place for Norman city council members.

“Sir, you were quiet about this entire situation, and I think that just speaks to your integrity,” local resident Layne Brown said, addressing Norman Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman, per KOKH.

Paul Wilson, another local resident, called out the city council for not having a code of conduct in place for its council members. “You guys can present it to council. I’m pretty sure every one of you who has morals will approve it. Stop being the only city in the metro that doesn’t have one,” he said.

Montoya’s term as city councilwoman began on July 4, 2023, and was set to end on July 6, 2027.

Following Montoya’s resignation, her seat in the city council is vacant, and Norman is taking applications for new candidates until Oct. 2, per KOKH.