A California woman’s Facebook post about assassinating the President Barack Obama is now being investigated by the Secret Service.
Shortly after Obama was reelected Tuesday night, Denise Helms, 22, updated her Facebook status denouncing his win. “And another 4 years of the n****, maybe he will get assassinated this term..!!,” wrote the Turlock, Calif. resident.
Helms’ post got her fired from her job at Cold Stone Creamery, and she told KTXL-TV on Wednesday that if Obama was killed, she wouldn’t feel bad.
“The assassination part is kind of harsh. I’m not saying I’d go do that or anything like that, by any means, but if it was to happen I don’t think I’d care one bit. … It’s not something I would be upset about,” Helms said. She also said outraged people had called her workplace to threaten her.
In an interview Thursday with the Fox affiliate, she reneged from those comments and now understands what she said is wrong.
“What I said was wrong, it was,” she confessed, adding that she isn’t racist. “I was really upset and it kinda just came out.”
The Secret Service told the Modesto Bee that all threats directed at the president are investigated but declined to comment on Helms’ case specially. Threats against the president are a felony under U.S. Code Section 871 and those found guilty could be fined and/or face up to five years in prison.
Cold Stone Creamery is doing damage control on its Twitter account. The company is tweeting at concerned customers, writing that Helms’ comments are “outrageous, completely unacceptable, and in no way reflect our fans.”
Photo via KTXL-TV
