Missouri mayor supports Kansas shooting suspect

MARIONVILLE, Mo. -- A small-town Missouri mayor's public support of a Kansas shooting suspect has led to the resignation of one of his elected colleagues.

Marionville Alderwoman Jessica Wilson told the Springfield News-Leader on Wednesday she is stepping down in protest of comments made by Mayor Danny Clevenger.

The repair shop owner said in an interview with KSPR-TV he shared some of his friend Frazier Glenn Cross' racist and anti-Semitic beliefs.

The 73-year-old white supremacist from the nearby southwest Missouri town of Aurora is accused of shooting three people to death outside a suburban Kansas City Jewish community center and retirement home.

Wilson said while some constituents asked her to seek Clevenger's removal, she is instead resigning to focus on her family and job.

"I'm only one voice on the board," she said. "That's easier said than done."

Clevenger, who was elected mayor earlier this month, said Cross "was always nice and friendly" and "respected his elders greatly, as long as they were the same color as him."

He said that while it was "terrible what Frazier did," he also "can understand why he would be the one to do that."

After his initial comments were widely reported, Clevenger has declined subsequent interview requests.