JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — **UPDATE: Jacksonville mayor gives statement after heated Twitter conversation with threats of violence
Fighting words, literally, from Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry as he participated in a recent Twitter skirmish.
The mayor spent part of his New Year's weekend engaging in heated Twitter exchanges with City Councilman Garrett Dennis and Fraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona, as well as relatively anonymous Twitter users.
It started when the mayor posted a photo of him and his wife celebrating New Year's Eve.
Twitter user @davec36411362, who also goes by ImpeachLennyCurry, responded by blasting the mayor's wife.
Curry's response was a challenge. "Name the place. Show your face. I'll be there."
That's when Dennis got involved, Tweeting he'd been the recipient of similar "tough guy talk" from Curry.
Zona then joined the thread, firing off a Tweet accusing Dennis of inappropriate behavior with another woman.
"Wasn’t it you council member who was making thousands of phone calls to another woman or who were those calls made to ? Was it work related ? At least the mayor sticks by his wife."
Curry retweeted Zona's accusation, and added his own observation: "She knows. Everybody knows."
He has since deleted that Tweet.
Dennis retorted by saying Curry had skeletons in his own closet -- an allegation without apparent merit.
Reaction to the Twitter skirmish was mixed. Many defended Curry, but many others chastised the mayor for acting inappropriately, given his position.
Florida Times-Union reporter Christopher Hong Tweeted, "Let’s hope all the out-of-town companies and professionals city officials talk endlessly about bringing to Jacksonville aren’t on Twitter."
First Coast News reached out to the Mayor's Office for comment.