The woman who was promoted to the position of publisher and editor of the Linden Democrat-Reporter has stepped down.

Elecia Dexter accepted the leadership at the newspaper on Feb. 21 after an editorial calling for the “Klan to ride again” was written and published by former editor and publisher, Goodlow Sutton. That editorial calling for the return of the KKK drew nationwide attention and criticism.

Dexter had said when accepting the leadership role at the Democrat-Reporter that she looked forward to taking the newspaper in a new direction.

However, according to a report by the New York Times on Friday, Dexter said Sutton often interfered.

An example of that interference had to do with the Feb. 28 edition of the Democrat-Reporter, Dexter told the New York Times.

Dexter’s version of that newspaper’s front page included an article on Sutton’s retirement; however, she said she emailed a different version to news outlets and advertisers that replaced the story on his retirement with content defending his editorial. Dexter told the Times the decision to step down was to protect her “integrity and well-being.”

Dexter also said that Sutton had interfered in the newspaper’s most recent edition. While the Demopolis Times could not confirm directly from Dexter how he interfered, that edition of the Democrat-Reporter features a front page story about differences as to face in and opinion Sutton had with a reporter with the Montgomery Advertiser.

Attempts by the Demopolis Times to contact Dexter were not successful as of Sunday. A message was also left for Sutton at the Democrat-Reporter office.

Sutton’s editorial that stated the Klan should ride on the “Democrats in the Republican Party and Democrats” led to the Alabama Press Association censuring him and suspending the newspaper’s membership. The University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Communication and the Auburn University Journalism Advisory Council each revoked previous honors presented to Sutton.