Lawmaker: Clinton comments were hyperbole

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia Republican lawmaker said Sunday his comments made on Twitter calling for Democrat Hillary Clinton’s public execution weren’t meant to be taken literally.

House of Delegates member Mike Folk said that his tweet Friday over Clinton’s use of a private email system while serving as secretary of state was “hyperbole.”

In the tweet, Folk said Clinton “should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the U.S. Constitution … then hung on the Mall in Washington, D.C.”

Folk said he still wants Clinton to go on trial, but doesn’t want her executed.

“It could have been said a little bit better,” Folk said. “I regret the tone, and the second part of that tweet.

Folk said he sent the tweet after watching a video of testimony before a U.S. House committee over the Clinton emails.

The state Democratic Party has called for his resignation. Folk said he won’t resign.