ATLANTA -- A northeast Georgia sheriff is getting some heat for defending an alleged attack on a reporter in Montana. Scott Berry is the longtime sheriff of Oconee County near Athens.

Sheriff Berry wrote a Facebook post he says he intended humorously, referencing the attack on a reporter from The Guardian by Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte. The Republican won a special election for the Montana congressional seat Tuesday.

The post referenced a 27 year old TV miniseries called Lonesome Dove.

In the post on Facebook, Berry wrote: “To paraphrase Augustus McCrae, it ain’t much of a crime whacking a surly reporter.” It got plenty of accolades.

“Some people just need a good old (tail) whooping,” one backer wrote. Sheriff Berry went on to write “(the reporter) got shoved on his (tail) and that solved the issue... If I were on a jury I would acquit the defendant.”

When we reached Berry by text to request an interview, he wrote “I don’t want to make something this serious out of it. I decline the interview” request.

But Hollie Manheimer, the retired director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation said the attack in Montana is nothing to joke about.

"Violence, throwing people to the ground, it’s not fun sport. It’s not mockery," she said Friday. "In terms of the media being attacked, nobody deserves that. Even if you’ve got a rude reporter."

Media relations specialist Kimberly Krautter agreed. "Even if he claims it’s all in jest and all in good fun, (Berry) is an elected official. And he’s a law enforcement official," Krautter said. "It’s just wrong on its face and he should know better."

Sheriff Berry’s post did not make a common assumption about reporters these days -- that reporters are agenda driven liberals. Instead, Berry wrote that his post was simply about rude behavior by the Guardian reporter. And Berry urged his friends on Facebook to watch Lonesome Dove.

The Sheriff's Department also posted a response on their official Facebook page: