Dona Ana County GOP Chair Resigns After Facebook Post

LAS CRUCES, NM — The chairman of the Dona Ana County Republican Party in New Mexico has stepped down after posting on the party's Facebook page that "violent, leftist" counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia were dividing races and genders, and got "exactly what they asked for": a segregated society.

Roman Jimenez wrote the Facebook post on Sunday and later told an Albuquerque TV station that it was taken out of context. He said he regretted that it was misunderstood.

The party said in a statement Tuesday that it accepted Jimenez's resignation. (For more information on this and other New Mexico stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Governor-hopeful Rep. Steve Pearce, the only Republican member of New Mexico's congressional delegation, told the Albuquerque Journal on Tuesday that Jimenez was "right" to step down.

Photo credit: Dona Ana Republican Party Release (Feb. 24)