The Secret Service told Chicago City Wire that it was “aware” of the mock assassination of President Donald Trump at state Senator Martin Sandoval’s (D-Chicago) Aug. 16 political fundraiser. But Public Affairs Specialist for the Secret Service, Julia McMurray, would not “confirm or comment on the absence or existence of specific investigations” – only that the Secret Service investigates all threats against the President
Democratic and Republican officials on both the state and national levels condemned the photos posted on social media of someone aiming a fake rifle (turns out it was a novelty beverage dispenser) at a man wearing a Trump mask at Sandoval’s golf outing.
Sandoval quickly apologized for the photos and then a few days later blamed it on workers for an entertainment vendor.
State Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago)
“I had absolutely no knowledge that this regrettable exchange between one of my 1,200 guests and a third-party vendor even took place,” Sandoval said in a statement. “Those individuals involved exhibited extremely poor judgment.”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider called Sandoval’s apology “too little, too late.”
“Dangerous imagery like this will be condemned and seen as inappropriate by people of sound mind; however, a mentally unstable individual who wants to harm President Trump might find them as an inspiration,” Schneider said in a statement. “It’s inexcusable for an elected official to allow the promotion of violence in any way. If the individual pictured is a staffer or volunteer, they should be terminated immediately.”
Threatening the President of the United States is a felony under United States Code Title 18 and is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Past Secret Service investigations, according to the Wikipedia, include a student in 2005 posting a photo of himself with thumbs down next to a President George W. Bush poster with a thumb tack through his forehead. The Secret Service investigated after a Walmart photo department employee reported the photo to the police. No charges were filed.
In 2007, a Purdue University teaching assistant was convicted of posting messages critical of the Iraq war, which included comments that called for the assassination of the president.
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