Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal is in hot water after she posted a Facebook comment that called for President Donald Trump‘s assassination.
“I hope Trump is assassinated!” Chappelle-Nadal wrote via her personal page on another user’s post after Trump made headlines for his alleged support of white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Those five words have put the career of one of Missouri’s most controversial politicians in great peril and has sparked a Secret Service investigation.
The politician was contrite and soon offered her mea culpa over her comment, which went public and viral. Here is the inflammatory exchange the senator had with a follower:
Chappelle-Nadal was quickly rebuked for her very imprudent, and potentially dangerous statement:
A Missouri State Senator from St. Louis has now called for the assassination of @realDonaldTrump. Keep it classy @MariaChappelleN. pic.twitter.com/JTrkxk4Pkz
— Mark Reardon (@MarkReardonKMOX) August 17, 2017
Chappelle-Nadal tried to mop up her mess but to little avail.
“I didn’t mean what I put up. Absolutely not. I was very frustrated,” Chappelle-Nadal told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Things have got to change.”
Chappelle-Nadal tried to rationalize her faux pas by saying she was upset about Trump’s comments comparing anti-racist protesters to neo-Nazis who rallied on the behalf of “white power” and the preservation of Confederate monuments.
That explanation was not good enough, not even close, for the leaders of her own party who called for her head to be served up on a platter, the Dispatch reports:
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.: “I condemn it. It’s outrageous. And she should resign.”
U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis: “(C)alling for the assassination of the President is a federal crime. … (She is) an embarrassment to our state. She should resign immediately.”
Missouri Democratic Party Chair Stephen Webber: “The … Party will absolutely not tolerate calls for the assassination of the President. I believe she should resign.”
Missouri Senate Democratic Caucus leader Sen. Gina Walsh: “(She) should be ashamed of herself for adding her voice to this toxic environment.”
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens said in a statement: “We can have differences in our country, but no one should encourage political violence. The senator should resign.”
Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, and state Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, also called for Chappelle-Nadal’s resignation.
The U.S. Secret Service stated that they are “looking into” Chappelle-Nadal’s comment. A special agent said the agency would “determine intent, to determine if there was a violation of federal law. If there is, then we refer it to the U.S. Attorney.”
Chappelle-Nadal’s comments have since been deleted from her social media page.
