CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Councilman Joe Jones pleaded with his colleagues not to censure him Monday night, saying that a “joking remark” he made had been twisted and magnified into a controversy.

Jones – who’s accused of threatening to kill a staffer – said what was happening to him proved any member of Cleveland City Council could be targeted and punished without due process.

Ultimately, his colleagues voted 14-2 to censure him for breaking council’s workplace violence policy and standards of conduct policy. The disciplinary action comes after two outside investigations concluded that Jones engaged in serious misconduct — first by bullying staff, and later by threatening to kill an employee.

Jones and Councilman Richard Starr were the only two to vote no on the censure.

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