Posted on November 11, 2016

Assassination Threats Against Trump Flood Twitter

Joshua Rhett Miller, New York Post, November 11, 2016

The shock and anger over Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House has triggered a flood of calls on Twitter and other social media outlets for the president-elect to be assassinated–and authorities will investigate all threats deemed to be credible, The Post has learned.

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But that message of inclusion was apparently lost in social media circles, particularly Twitter, where a simple search can reveal dozens and dozens of calls to gun down the next leader of the free world. Some posts called for both Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence to be assassinated, and there’s even an #AssassinateTrump hashtag.

“Trump chose the literal worst case scenario as VP so nobody would try to impeach or assassinate him,” one user posted on Twitter.

Another user wrote that the “only” remaining question after Tuesday’s historic and polarizing election is who will “assassinate” Trump, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. Some users even cited that date as a deadline for the assassination.

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But a security source told The Post that the Secret Service would investigate all social media postings containing credible threats, adding that there’s a difference between someone saying they’re planning to kill the president and suggesting that someone else should attempt an assassination. Generally, indirect threats are not prosecuted, according to the source, and investigators will “prioritize” them before determining their credibility.

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