"I was thrown under the bus for expressing my 1st amendment rights and speaking the truth and concerns for law enforcement," he wrote early Wednesday on Facebook.

"This Black Lives Matter group is nothing more than an American born terrorist group brought on by the lie of the 'hands up don't shoot' during the criminal thug Michael Brown incident," he reportedly wrote in the post, which was later deleted.

"I have instructed my officers to be vigilant, if threatened take appropriate action," he also wrote. "If that means shoot a thug, then do it and answer for it while you are still alive not dead." Read the full post here.

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Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat gives a tour of Fulton County Jail in  2023. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2023)

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC