May 30, 2013 2 min read

State Rep. Jesse White apologized Thursday for posting anonymous comments on a Marcellus Shale blog attacking natural gas drilling advocates living in Cecil Township.

White, D-Cecil, admitted to posting comments under fictitious names on the Energy In-Depth website in the past after a television report linked the anonymous postings to his internet provider.

White denied he used state government equipment when making the comments, but admitted in a written statement the comments were “an error in judgment that I regret.”

The comments apparently targeted Cecil resident Janice Gibbs and her support for the Marcellus Shale industry. Gibbs received comments from fictitious posters – one of them even impersonating her – and said she was upset to later learn some of them might have come from White.

“I always kind of knew it was Rep. White,” Gibbs said. “It’s not just another citizen who has different views. It’s my state representative.”

In an interview with the Observer-Reporter on Thursday morning, White denied making the anonymous comments and blamed it on political attacks by the natural gas industry trying to discredit him. But just a few hours later, the state House Democratic Caucus issued a statement that White “misspoke” and acknowledged he commented on the blog various times in the past. It also raised questions whether he had made anonymous comments on other media message boards.