A white Michigan attorney has been the subject of a public condemnation from his peers in the state’s court system for comparing an African-American judge to a gorilla. MLive reports that Eric C. Grimm, a Muskegon lawyer and a judicial candidate for Muskegon County’s probate court, sent an email out to his colleagues on July 10, asking for their votes and criticizing sitting probate court judge Gregory C. Pittman for bullying the other candidates. “I can understand why some of the other candidates may not want to speak up about the 800-lb Silverback Alpha Male in the middle of the Probate Court,” Grimm wrote in his email.

Asked to comment on his email, Grimm told the Michigan Morning Star that his words were “slightly taken out of context,” because his intention wasn’t to insult the other judge, but to “emphasize the fact that there is bullying taking place within such a high institution.” “And as usual, when you reporters get a hold of something this juicy, you always interpret it the wrong way in the hopes of making big headlines that attract crowds,” he argued. “But, I’m used to it, it happens all the time.”

Speaking about his version of the reason why the email in question was sent, the racist judge said that “addressing people in that manner is normal if you’re the person being bullied.” “Surely you’ve encountered bullying in some shape or form in school, everybody has, at least once. And if you’ve been in that situation, you know that pretty much the only chance you have left of retaining an ounce of dignity is to call the bully names. And that’s what I did, although, I could have said something worse,” Grimm said.

“Besides, I don’t really get what all the fuss is about, it’s not like I lied or anything,” he continued. “The man does really weigh almost that much, and he does act like a gorilla. And that’s another part I don’t get – these black people, most of the time they complain about oppression, about how they’re being targeted by police, about poverty, even the Black Lives Matter movement screams about racism and whatnot all the time. And yet, there’s a black man, not a white man, a black man sitting in the White House. How do you explain that?” the attorney asked.

“Somebody here is lying, and they’re lying big time. Because, and I’m not even going to control myself anymore, I mean, how can I with all this hypocrisy surrounding this country? Because, there’s currently another African gorilla controlling the White House, in fact, there’s a whole bunch of them up there, an entire pack, and yet, black people have never lived in greater poverty or had more deaths in this country. So I’m asking you, how is it that they’re complaining about racism? They were doing just fine when there were white presidents in charge. And I guarantee you they’ll go back to living good lives after the next presidential election in November. And you know why? Because another white person is going to be president again,” Grimm concluded.