JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri lawmaker who called for the vandal of a Confederate monument to be hanged won’t be punished.

House Speaker Todd Richardson told reporters Thursday that the comment was inappropriate but said he won’t take action against fellow Republican Rep. Warren Love.

Love in an August Facebook post expressed hope that whoever vandalized the monument would be “hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”

House Democratic leader Gail McCann Beatty was among lawmakers who said Love’s words evoked images of lynchings of black people.

On Thursday she said she wanted a different outcome but added that she hopes the controversy had an impact on Love.

She noted that Love voted against a bill to increase penalties for hurting police dogs, a proposal that was slammed by black lawmakers.