Mayor Jim Fouts (Facebook photo)
Warren Mayor James Fouts seems to run toward controversy. He almost makes Donald Trump seem well-adjusted and sensible.
The latest absurdity in the political soap opera in Warren: Fouts absurdly accuses city Treasurer Lorie Barnwell of hacking or hijacking his Facebook friends list.
"This is UNPRECEDENTED" that an elected official would 'hack' or 'hijack' another official's private Facebook," Fouts wrote Monday on Facebook. "I consider this an invasion of my privacy. I was not aware that my 'friends' have to be protected of their privacy from another elected official."
Depending on privacy settings, people can look at other people's friends on Facebook without being connected to that person or doing anything inappropriate or illegal. They can also request to be "friends" with those people.
Barnwell tells Fox 2's Taryn Asher:
"For some reason (he) thought adding friends on Facebook you were hacking. Don't know if he quite understands how Facebook works but adding friends on Facebook is not hacking."
The elected treasurer says she was trying to connect more with her constituents, through her website phone calls and adding residents to her Facebook page.
Some of Fouts' supporters threaten her and her family on Facebook, she adds.
"He has riled everyone up with these lies that I've been hacking into his site," Barnwell sayts. "I took this extremely personally, I actually have a young son."
She filed a police report against one person posting a threat.
