Bill Swift, the chairman of the Lenawee County Democratic Party, has recently ignited a storm of controversy with a Facebook post that challenged the legitimacy of the 2024 presidential election results and harshly criticized immigration officials by labeling them as “Nazi collaborators.”
Swift spoke to the Adrian City Commission on June 3, 2024, about a proposed point of sale housing inspection ordinance, which narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote. Despite deleting the post shortly after it was shared, Swift remained unapologetic during a call-in segment on Talk Back Radio with Doug Spade and Mike Clement.
Swift justified the removal of the post by expressing concerns that supporters of President Donald Trump might resort to violence within the community. Yet, he stood firm on the content of his message, asserting, “We as a party and I as an individual absolutely 100% support the statements that we made.”
During his radio appearance, he defended the post as “outlining a very rational argument” and accused Trump and his followers of Nazi sympathies. Swift went so far as to claim that Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a supporter of Trump, made “two Hitler salutes, two Nazi salutes” during Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Swift’s allegations didn’t stop there. He argued that Musk had turned his social media platform into a “right-wing Nazi echo chamber.” According to Swift, the alleged salutes marked “a transformative moment in American history,” which he equated to a Nazi rally at a presidential inauguration.
The deleted Facebook post, which was highlighted on social media platform X, accused agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operating in Lenawee County of being “Nazi collaborators.”
The post continued with a fierce declaration: “It should be understood that in the context of an illegitimately and unconstitutionally elected insurrectionist president who ran on Nazi rhetoric and who had what was, in effect, a Nazi rally for his presidential inauguration that the agents of ICE that are operating in our county today are properly defined as Nazi collaborators.
These Nazi collaborators are unconstitutionally operating within the border of the State of Michigan. Invalid Supreme Court rulings are just that, folks.” It further claimed that the United States was no longer a constitutional republic but had devolved into a “fascist Nazi billionaire oligarchy.”
Swift’s remarks on the radio were equally provocative. He accused Trump of attempting to overthrow the U.S. government and labeled him a “domestic enemy and domestic terrorist.” He argued that Trump’s policies, including efforts to end birthright citizenship, justified his “extraconstitutional removal.”
Swift painted a grim picture of America’s future under Trump, claiming that “jackbooted thugs” with ICE would soon be “dragging kindergarteners from schools and churches.”
He compared the current political environment in the U.S. to Nazi Germany during World War II, referencing resistance efforts from the Netflix series Nr. 24. Perhaps most shocking were Swift’s comments advocating the death penalty for Trump supporters.
He referred to another post by the Lenawee County Democratic Party, which stated that those trying to make Trump a “king” were “traitors who should be hanged by the neck until dead.”
“They should be arrested, and they should be facing the death penalty,” Swift stated. “They should be hanged by the neck until dead. I believe this is one of the few areas of the law where I believe the death penalty should be imposed.” The Lenawee County Democratic Party has yet to officially respond to the backlash resulting from Swift’s statements.
The inflammatory rhetoric and calls for the death penalty have sparked outrage, drawing criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
As the controversy unfolds, Swift’s comments highlight growing tensions in political discourse and the potential consequences of incendiary language in an increasingly divided nation.