The Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider is under investigation from the Secret Service after statements he made online Thursday against President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The federal agency charged with protecting POTUS, the Vice President and their immediate families, as well as major political candidates and high level government officials, have opened the probe, according to Deadline.
As Breitbart News reported, Schneider called for the public execution of Biden, saying the commander in chief should to be “publicly hung” for treason. The actor also called for Hunter Biden to be executed.
John Schneider posted the X message in reply to Biden’s recent post in which he called former President Donald Trump a “threat” to democracy.
“Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung. Your son too. Your response is…?” the actor wrote.
Schneider’s post – which was deleted soon after – came after years of left-wingers calling for violence and even the assassination of then-President Donald Trump.
Officially, the White House and the Secret Service, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, are saying nothing on any investigation of Schneider. However, sources close to events confirmed to the outlet a probe is in the preliminary stage.
“We look at all threats against our protectees and, due to intent, this falls under the definition of a threat,” a law enforcement insider informed Deadline late on Thursday.
A federal Class D felony, a “credible” threat against the president is subject to up to five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine, the Deadline sets out in its story.
File/John Schneider, actor in TV show ‘Dukes of Hazard’, interviews local business owner Patrick Sims while shooting the new reality series “Trick My What?” in the cable network Country Music Television on Friday, Sept. 30, 2011, in Richmond. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
File/American actors (left to right) John Schneider, Catherine Bach and Tom Wopat in a promotional portrait for the TV show ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, circa 1980. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Restrictions on going online can be applied too by a judge in sentencing, as can three years of supervised release.
The law “prohibits knowing and willful threats to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm against” the President, the VP, their predecessors, potential successors and their respective “immediate family.”
Schnieder has since issued two public statements denying the imputations he has been accused of.