On the Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, one of Gwinnett County’s highest elected officials took to his personal Facebook page to call United States Rep. John Lewis “a racist pig.” 

The post — in which Tommy Hunter, a Republican on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, also referred to “Demonrats” as “a bunch of idiots” — came amid turmoil between Lewis and president-elect Donald Trump. That started Friday, when Lewis, a Civil Rights icon and friend of Martin Luther King Jr., told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that he didn’t view Trump as “a legitimate president.”

Trump then responded on Twitter, calling Lewis “all talk” and proclaiming his Congressional district — which includes most of the city of Atlanta — to be “in terrible shape and falling apart.” 

Hunter, whose Gwinnett district lies many miles east of Lewis’ congressional one, posted his thoughts on Facebook late Saturday afternoon.

Hunter addressed Lewis on Facebook again on Sunday afternoon, calling his election wins “all illegitimate.”

He later posted an image that included this phrase: “If you’re easily offended and looking for a ‘safe place’ my page ain’t it.. Move along snowflake.”

Sometime shortly before 11 a.m. Monday, however, the “racist pig” post was no longer on Hunter’s timeline. The page’s privacy settings also appeared to be changed, but the other posts mentioned above were still visible to “friends” and “followers”  — along with additional posts mocking U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, asking if there were “any white guys" on the University of Alabama’s football team and criticizing Gov. Nathan Deal’s decision to declare a state of emergency ahead of last weekend’s ultimately uneventful winter storm.

Reached Monday morning, Hunter said his “racist pig” comment was “probably an overreaction out of aggravation” — but he didn’t back down from the rest of his message.

He also defended Trump, saying the president-elect isn’t racist and downplaying reports of Russian hacking possibly influencing the election.

“While I am grateful for what the Congressman did in Selma and other times during the civil rights movement, you get respect by showing respect,” Hunter wrote in a Facebook message to a reporter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He is using his fame as a way to continually divide the races and in this case standing on the very much unsubstantiated claim that the guy I voted for [Trump] is racist and only won because of Russians hacking the election—which, of course, we all know didn't occur.”

“So, true to exactly what the political pundits said would happen, he makes the claim that Trump, and all of us that voted for him, are illegitimate,” Hunter’s message continued. “Therefore I claim [Lewis] is illegitimate and make just as many unsubstantiated claims as [Trump] does. After all, in today's world, it's not about the evidence, but the seriousness of the charges.”

Hunter, the vice president of a local environmental testing firm, was first elected to Gwinnett’s Board of Commissioners in 2012 and narrowly won re-election in November. Prior to his time on the board,  Hunter worked in the county’s department of public utilities and served on its water and sewage authority (from 2005 to 2009) and its planning commission (from 2011 to 2012).

He represents District 3, which covers a wide (and diverse) swath of southern and eastern Gwinnett, including parts of Snellville, Loganville, Grayson and Dacula.

Though much of Gwinnett remains staunchly Republican, Hillary Clinton won the county in November’s presidential election. It was the first time a Democrat took Gwinnett since Jimmy Carter in 1976. 

Gwinnett is the second-most populous county in Georgia. It’s also a majority-minority county, meaning non-white residents account for more than half of its population. 

Hunter’s fellow commissioners did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning, nor did several other local and state politicians. Georgia State Rep.

Dar’Shun Kendrick, a Democrat whose District 93 touches part of Hunter’s Gwinnett territory, shared her thoughts on Twitter.

Gabe Okoye, chairman of the Gwinnett Democratic Party, called Hunter “a disgrace to Gwinnett County in particular and Georgia in general.” He called for the commissioner to apologize for his comments.

Shortly after sending his comments to a reporter, Hunter took to Facebook again — this time to wish his followers a “Happy MLK Day.” 

Gwinnett County’s annual parade celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. began at 11 a.m. Monday in Lawrenceville.

--Please return to AJC.com for updates.