Minnesota Teacher Resigns Over Kavanaugh Assassination Tweet

Samantha Ness, a Minnesota teacher, has resigned after a message appeared on her Twitter account suggesting someone should assassinate new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The Rosemount special education teacher has since deleted her Twitter account, but a tweet that read "so whose gonna take one for the team and kill Kavanaugh" was reported by Twitter users to the FBI and Secret Service.

The FBI in Minneapolis told The Star Tribune that it's aware of the tweet.

Intermediate School District 917 Superintendent Mark Zuzek said in a statement Tuesday that the employee has voluntarily resigned after being placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

Justice Kavanaugh was sworn in Monday after a divisive Senate confirmation hearing. 
(KOMO 4 News, October 10, 2018)
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It is unclear whether the teacher will be charged with a crime or what law enforcement agency is responsible for investigating the tweet. While Twitter users wrote that they reported the tweet to the FBI and Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for protecting the federal judiciary. The U.S. Supreme Court also has a small federal police force in Washington, D.C.

Threats of murder and violence from left-wing activists are not new.  In May 2017 we read: Republicans Facing Violence, Death Threats From Left-Wing Activists. And on July 31, 2018 a similar article reported: Violent threats from the left aimed at Republicans are growing -- When will Democrats condemn them? It takes little effort to find many more reports of left-wing threats and violence, but these individuals are seldom criminally charged for their threats.

Now, nobody is saying that individuals and groups can't protest government policies and actions. Make public comments. Contact government agencies and personnel directly at their offices. Send letters and e-mail, make phone calls, write articles, stand in a public area with a protest sign. Do these things every day if you wish, you have a First Amendment protected right to do so. But what you can't do is make threats of violence and call for the murder of our government officials. This is never acceptable. It is not a joke, nor is it political expression. Threats like this are a crime.