DUDLEY, Mass. (AP) — An official in a Massachusetts town has publicly apologized after posting a racist slur on Facebook in the wake of the deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.

The Telegram & Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2imxHhD ) that Dudley Highway Superintendent Daniel Gion apologized at a selectmen's meeting on Monday for his "insensitive comment." He says his emotions got the better of him during a Facebook discussion last week about a CNN debate broadcast discussing the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. The typed slur — "Stupid porch monkey!!" — was apparently in reference to CNN commentator Symone Sanders, who is black. Gion is white.

Gion was placed on paid leave last week. He says he hopes to move on and learn from his mistake.

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com