Calls for Democratic Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal to resign are rolling in following her now-deleted Facebook post about hoping for President Donald Trump’s assassination, and the Secret Service confirms it is investigating.
Chappelle-Nadal has been defiant, saying she is “not resigning,” and although she apologized for the assassination post, she is now calling for Trump’s impeachment.
“I am not resigning . . . What I said was wrong, but I am not going to stop talking about what led to that, which is the frustration and anger that many people across America are feeling right now,” Chapelle-Nadal told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“No, I don’t want to see anyone assassinated, but he should not be president, he should be impeached,” Chappelle-Nadal told St. Louis TV station KMOV:
But her fellow Democrats are calling for her to step down.
“I condemn it,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said in an emailed statement to the Post-Dispatch. “It’s outrageous. And she should resign.”
Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) also said Chappelle-Nadal should go.
“(C)alling for the assassination of the president is a federal crime,” Clay said, adding, She’s “an embarrassment to our state” and “she should resign immediately.”
Stephen Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, said, “State Senator Chappelle-Nadal’s comments are indefensible. All sides need to agree that there is no room for suggestions of political violence in America — and the Missouri Democratic Party will absolutely not tolerate calls for the assassination of the President. I believe she should resign.
The Republican governor of Missouri has also joined the resignation chorus.
“We can have differences in our country, but no one should encourage political violence. The senator should resign,” Gov. Eric Greitens said in a statement.
Now, the Secret Service has confirmed it is investigating Chapelle-Nadal’s posts.
“The St. Louis Field Office of the Secret Service is looking into the comments,” Secret Service spokeswoman Cathy Milhoan said in a statement to CNN. “The Secret Service investigates all threats against the President, Vice President, and other protectees, whether they be direct, implied or comments in passing,” she added.