Ohio county official apologizes for Hillary Clinton remark

NEWARK, Ohio (AP) - A county official in Ohio is apologizing after a newspaper quoted him as saying that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton "should be hanging from a tree."

Licking County Commissioner Duane Flowers read a prepared apology during a meeting on Thursday, after The (Newark) Advocate reported on the comment he made during a meeting earlier this week.

Flowers says he made the remark during a casual conversation with two other officials and a reporter from The Advocate that he thought was off the record.

Flowers says he knows that he "will never again have a casual conversation with a reporter."

Licking County Democratic Party Chairwoman Grace Cherrington says Flowers' remarks promote "violence and divisiveness."

Newark, Ohio, is about 30 miles east of the state capital of Columbus.