Laura Smith, a supervisor for Towamencin, has officially stepped down from her post after a video went viral of her mimicking Elon Muk's gesture that looked to be a N*zi salute at the presidential inauguration last week.
Laura Smith is a Republican supervisor. She also serves as vice chair of the board of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and the nonprofit Knights for Life. She was first elected in 2013, and she sought to be re-elected in 2019. Given that she came out on top, her term was supposed to end this December 2025.
Laura Smith "stirs the pot" with her video simply because "she can": Here's what we know
In Laura Smith's now-deleted video, she can be seen striking her chest three times before extending her arm, similar to what Musk did during President Donald Trump’s inauguration last week. She can be seen sporting a Hollins University Women’s College sweatshirt, and she says the following:
“Just checking in on my friends who are struggling this week,” she says before making the gesture. “My heart goes out to you. Hope you’re doing okay.”
Her statement was a direct nod to what Elon Musk said when he addressed the crowd at Capitol One Arena. “My heart goes out to you,” said Musk at the time.
As reported by Times & Suburban, before the video was taken down, Smith addressed one of the critics in her comments, noting,
“I cannot post something that matters to me without an unhinged person being a complete boob. So I made a post to stir the pot. Because I can.”
However, in the wake of the mounting backlash that ensued as the video went viral on several social media platforms, she resigned from her post and the boards. By Sunday afternoon, township officials issued a formal notice of resignation, signed with Laura Smith's name. It reads as follows:
"A video I posted recently to social media has been greatly mischaracterized. Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts. I abhor racism, anti-Semitic or discrimination in any fashion or form and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect. To allow the Township to move forward without the encumbrance of the fallout of my video, I tender my resignation from the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors effective immediately."
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“The Board of Supervisors cannot and will not tolerate such conduct,” the post on the township website concluded.
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