Georgia Lawmaker Who Defended KKK Named to Key Post

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R) named as one of his committee chairs a state representative who opposed the erection of a statue to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the grounds of the State Capitol and said the Ku Klux Klan made “people straighten up,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Rep. Tommy Benton (R) will chair the House Retirement Committee, which oversees the retirement funds for Georgia teachers and state employees.