Warren Mayor Jim Fouts explains accusing city official of Facebook hack

WARREN, Mich. (WJBK) - Warren Mayor Jim Fouts is opening up after accusing the city treasurer of hacking his Facebook account.

Treasurer Lorie Barnwell says she's receiving threats online after the accusation. Monday night, when Taryn Asher tried to get Fouts' side of the story, he shut the door in her face.

But Fouts was watching when that story aired last night, and now he's talking.

Fox 2's Charlie Langton: "Do you believe that Lorie Barnwell will hacked into your Facebook?"

Fouts: "I think the term was loosely used, and the reason I used that was because I had a number of my supporters, friends on my private Facebook who called me up on Saturday night and were upset that Lorie Barnwell was was trying to get in and demanding they friend her."

Fouts says it doesn't matter that the mayor and the treasurer have the same Facebook friends; it's how Barnwell contacted the mayor's Facebook friends.

"She should've contacted me and said, 'Mayor Fouts, I'm going to go on your Facebook and I'm going to get hundreds if not thousands of your friends, is that OK?" Fouts said.

The mayor says he would've had the option to say yes or no.

Langton: "Would you have said yes or no?"

Fouts: "I'm not sure what I would say."

So the feud continues. Monday night on Fox 2, treasurer Barnwell said she didn't hack anything by adding Facebook friends.

"For some reason (he) thought adding friends on Facebook you were hacking," said Barnwell. "I don't know if he quite understands how Facebook works but adding friends on Facebook is not hacking."

Hacking may have been the wrong word.

"I would say hacking is the wrong terminology -- hijacking or at least having nefarious effort at getting in to get my friends," Fouts said.

The irony here is that the mayor supported Barnwell for her job.

"No good deed goes unpunished," Fouts said.