A Montgomery County official mimicked Elon Musk’s controversial ‘salute,’ sparking outrage online and her resignation from the local library and a nonprofit

A township supervisor in Montgomery County has come under fire, and resigned from her position at the local library and a nonprofit, after posting a TikTok where she mimics the controversial gesture Elon Musk made during President Donald Trump’s inaugural festivities — which many have likened to a Nazi salute.

Towamencin Township Supervisor Laura Smith, a Republican and the board’s vice chair, posted a video that shows her hitting her chest three times before extending her arm outward. The video began gaining traction and generating outrage online Friday evening, days after Musk made a similar gesture during his speech to a crowd of Trump supporters at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

“Just checking in on my friends who are struggling this week, my heart goes out to you, hope you’re doing OK,” Smith says, accompanying her gesture. Musk also said “my heart goes out to you” after making the gesture.

The TikTok — posted on and eventually taken down from Smith’s now-deleted account — has culminated in her resignation Saturday from her board positions at the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library and Knights for Life, a local nonprofit, and in numerous emails and social media posts directed at the township. Local elected officials, including Smith’s Democratic colleagues on the board, and constituents have called for her resignation as township supervisor.

In a statement to The Inquirer, Smith said the video has been “greatly mischaracterized.” On Facebook, she said she made the post “to stir the pot. Because I can.”

“Not wishing to give offense, I removed the video from my accounts. I abhor racism, anti-Semitism, or discrimination in any fashion or form, and my record as a township supervisor attests to my commitment to treat all people with dignity and respect,” she said in the statement.

Smith did not respond to The Inquirer’s inquiry as to whether she will resign from her supervisor position.

Her fellow Republicans on the board of supervisors, Chairman H. Charles Wilson III and Treasurer Kristin Warner, did not respond to The Inquirer’s request for comment.

Smith was first elected township supervisor in 2013, and her second six-year term is up at the end of this year. She was the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library’s second vice president and secretary until the board of trustees accepted her resignation Saturday “due to conduct that does not align with the library’s values.”

Smith voted against — out of what she said was fear of litigation — hanging flags in Towamencin that sought to welcome marginalized groups; she led the charge to draft rules for backyard chickens in 2023; and when the township was planning to build a Wawa store last year, she had one request: “Just make sure it’s the best-looking Wawa you can build. We don’t want ugly, no ugly.”

Local Democrats are clear they want Smith to resign as township supervisor. “I’m not sure what’s taking her so long,” said Jason Salus, chair of the Montgomery County Democrats.

Joyce F. Snyder, secretary of the board of supervisors, said she was “shocked that [Smith] used a Nazi salute.”

“In her day-to-day life, I think that she sometimes likes to, as she put it, ‘stir the pot,’ so that was not a surprise to me,” Snyder said. “The extent that she went to was.”

“I don’t think there’s any way to put the genie back in this bottle,” Snyder added. “I don’t think it should be put back in this bottle.”

After Musk made the gesture on Monday, the Anti-Defamation League defended him, calling the gesture “awkward” and adding “all sides should give one another a bit of grace.” But the organization denounced Musk over a string of online Nazi-related “jokes” days later.

The ADL’s regional office did not respond to a request for comment on Smith’s video.

“I thought it was a stupid thing to post,” said Christian Nascimento, Montgomery County GOP chair, of Smith’s video. “I agree with the ADL that Musk was just gesturing, which you can tell if you watch the whole video. However, with all of the swirl in the media about it, it’s unnecessary to try and spin people up with something like that, and just distracts from the real issues.”

Kofi Osei, the Towamencin board’s assistant secretary and assistant treasurer, noted Smith’s term ends in December: “I would encourage everyone to continue to watch for the response from Laura or her chosen successor and consider their choice on Nov 4, 2025.”

“To be clear, if you are doing a pose with the intention of making people upset because it looks like a Nazi salute, the pose you are doing is a Nazi salute,” Osei said on Facebook. “I condemn this blatant anti-Semitism expressed by Laura Smith in no uncertain terms and believe she should apologize and resign from the Board of Supervisors.”

The video also attracted the attention of elected leaders outside Towamencin, including State Sen. Maria Collett of Montgomery County and Upper Merion Township Supervisor Greg Waks, both Democrats.

The response from constituents — and other concerned citizens — echoes that of the local officials. The township’s Facebook page is flooded with comments expressing repugnance over Smith’s video, and users on the Montgomery County subreddit have mobilized to speak out against Smith at forthcoming public meetings.

Snyder said the supervisors board has gotten likely over 500 emails since Smith’s video went viral.

“I can’t keep up,” Snyder said. “I mean, I literally can’t keep up.”

She added that probably only 15 to 20 of those emails are from township residents.

“Though I am 100% positive that at our next meeting, the township is going to show up in force to express their displeasure,” Snyder said.

The political demographics of the area — once considered a Republican stronghold — are shifting, Snyder said, calling Towamencin “truly purple.” Upon her election in 2021, Snyder became the first Democrat in the township voted into office since 1992. Osei was elected two years later.

And with the changing politics of the area, Snyder said, it’s time to shake up who’s at the helm, too.

“I guess the most important takeaway I have from all of this is, ‘Wow, is it past time for new leadership, Towamencin?’” Snyder said.