LaWana Mayfield's sorry for 9/11 post but doesn't say if plane took down twin towers

Charlotte City Council member LaWana Mayfield apologized on the WCNC show "Flashpoint" for "the hurt and pain" due to her social media post about an "alleged plane" in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

But in the interview, which aired Sunday morning, Mayfield did not say definitively whether she believed the World Trade Center towers fell because they were hit by two jetliners hijacked by terrorists.

Host Ben Thompson asked Mayfield: "Do you believe the planes took down those towers?"

Mayfield responded: "What I believe is that we lost Americans during this event. What I believe is that after this event, our nation identified a segment of our community and said this community is now terrorists. And from that moment, we have been saying 'terrorists, terrorists, terrorists.' " But, she said, "white Americans who have committed mass killings since that time" were not called "terrorists."

In the interview, she said she removed "alleged" from her post because "it was not a full thought."

On Monday, Mayfield, a Democrat, shared on her Facebook page an article on the website Awarenessact.com that stated: "It’s Official: European Scientific Journal Concludes 9/11 Was a Controlled Demolition."

The first sentence of the article states, "Ever since the moment that the towers fell, people have been saying that it was a controlled demolition. Now we might have academic evidence to prove the theory as fact!"

In her link to the article, Mayfield stated, "I am still waiting for someone to produce pieces of the alleged plane that opened the doors for US Citizens to loose all privacy rights (from the conspiracy theorist in me)."

The reference to the "alleged plane" set off a furor in Charlotte and across the nation. An online petition on change.org called for her to resign and had nearly 1,300 signatures Sunday morning.

"By giving her imprimatur to this conspiracy theory, Mayfield has brought shame and disgrace upon herself, her district, her city, and her state," the petition stated. "It is simply not acceptable for an elected official to use his or her platform to promote such claptrap. Mayfield needs to spare herself, the people of Charlotte, and the people of North Carolina further embarrassment by resigning."

Mayfield has said she is not resigning. She has, however, gained as fans some 9/11 conspiracy theorists, who have applauded her for raising questions about what happened on 9/11.

Two days after making the Facebook post, Mayfield sent an e-mail to her constituents. She said she would not resign and implied her social media post was taken out of context.

"I am in no way invalidating the impacts felt by many from 9/11 that caused the deaths of more than 3,000 people. I mourn, as an American, and wholly believe that were it not for the brave and heroic efforts of many, more lives would have been lost," the letter said.

Mayfield also said in the letter that she sees daily how being black "is the only requirement to be continuously harassed, killed in the streets, discriminated against in public places and assaulted in America. Personally, I am TIRED as an American, I am Tired as a Black American. ... I did NOT say I would stop having my own opinions or stop being BLACK nor will I forget as James E Baldwin once said that 'To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage.' "

In the WCNC interview, Mayfield acknowledged that roughly 3,000 Americans died on 9/11. During the interview, Thompson read a list of facts about the event, including that the planes crashed into the towers, leading to a fire that ultimately caused them to collapse.

Thompson asked her whether she disputed that.

Mayfield replied that she was "not here to dispute any information."

This story was originally published April 22, 2018 at 1:54 PM with the headline "LaWana Mayfield's sorry for 9/11 post but doesn't say if plane took down twin towers."