Minnesota State Rep. Ryan Winkler (D) is facing heat for using a racially-charged term on Twitter in reaction to Tuesday's Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Winkler deleted a tweet referring to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as "Uncle Thomas." Thomas was one of five justices to rule that a formula within the Voting Rights Act designating federal oversight on state and county voting laws was invalid.
Screenshots of the apparent update in question circulated on the social media outlet.
Winkler admitted to deleting the message, issuing an apology on Twitter, while attempting to clarify his thoughts on the matter. Part of that latter piece included a claim that he "did not understand 'Uncle Tom' as a racist term."