A Missouri state senator is under fire after a post on social media where she said she hoped the president would be assassinated.
Maria Chappelle-Nadal was replying to a comment on her personal Facebook page Thursday morning when she said "I hope Trump is assassinated!"
The comment was deleted a short while later, but not before KMOX’s Mark Reardon took a screenshot and posted it to Twitter.
5 On Your Side interviewed Chappelle-Nadal after the post was deleted. She told us the comment was "inappropriate" and that she regretted posting it, but said she will not apologize and refuses to resign.
"It was a bad decision that I made, and I made it out of frustration," she said. "It was inappropriate."
FULL INTERVIEW: Chappelle-Nadal talks post about Trump assassination
In a Facebook post, Governor Eric Greitens called for Chappelle-Nadal to resign.
Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill released the following statement on Natal's comments:
“I condemn it. It's outrageous. And she should resign.”
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay has also called for her resignation:
“Maria Chappelle-Nadal has a long and troubled history of making vulgar, obscene and completely irresponsible statements.
But calling for the assassination of the President is a federal crime.
She has repeatedly demeaned her office and she is an embarrassment to our state.
She should resign immediately.”
The Senate Democratic Caucus says it is condemning the comment.
“I strongly condemn and disavow Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s horrible comments. Promoting, supporting or suggesting violence against anyone, especially our elected leaders, is never acceptable. There is too much rancor and hate in today’s political discourse, and Sen. Chappelle-Nadal should be ashamed of herself for adding her voice to this toxic environment. Sen. Chappelle-Nadal’s unacceptable behavior has no place in our caucus, the Capitol, or the Democratic Party. Let me be clear, her views in no way represent the constituents of the 14th District or the great State of Missouri,” said Senate Democratic Leader Gina Walsh.
Stephen Webber, the Missouri Democratic Party Chair, released the following statement:
“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.”
And State Rep. Joshua Peters — a fellow democrat who has clashed with Nadal before — wrote a letter to the Missouri Senate leadership calling for an ethics investigation. He said talk of "assassination" should be the end of her time in the Senate.
"There's a level of decorum," Peters said. "There's a level of debate. There's a level of respect that comes with the office that we hold. If she can't understand that then she needs to step aside."
As for any ethics investigation, Peters says it could happen even before lawmakers go back to Jefferson City and would require a simple majority vote by senators to remove her from office.
One investigation we've confirmed is already underway is the secret service.
