Local activists are speaking out against a statement made Monday by Sheriff Mike Scott

Local activists are speaking out against a statement made Monday by Sheriff Mike Scott, saying they will be withdrawing their support of his candidacy. James Muwakkil, founder of the Fort Myers Coalition for Justice and member of the Lee County chapters of the NAACP and ACLU, said that while he supports Scott’s right to speak his mind, he criticized him for doing so while in uniform.“He spoke in an inflammatory manner, and we want to know exactly who he was speaking to, because even the Palin campaign distanced himself from that,” Muwakkil said. “He’s saying he’s not going to apologize. Well I think he should rethink that. The point of view we’re making that Sheriff Scott to exercise his right to free speech, but he didn’t’ have the right to do it in uniform.”