Liberal comedian and staunch democratic Party supporter Kathy Griffin was proud to have a photo of herself holding what appears to be a bloody, decapitated fake head of President Donald Trump.
The photo has received sweeping bi-partisan disapproval. Taken by celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, it was posted by Griffin and Shields last 30 May on their social media accounts.
"I caption this 'there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his ... wherever,'" Griffin tweeted, referring to an exchange between Donald Trump and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly during the primary season.
But in an attempt to appease those who were offended by the image, the controversial comedienne then tweeted, "OBVIOUSLY, I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever! I'm merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."
But the image caught the attention of the U.S. Secret Service.
Initially, the federal law enforcement agency did not directly cite the image in any of its tweets, but in response to Twitter users tweeting the image at its account, the Secret Service tweeted, "On it! @SecretService has a robust protective intelligence division that monitors open source reporting & social media to evaluate threats."
And an hour later after the first tweet, the agency tweeted, "Threats made against @SecretService protectees receive the highest priority of all of our investigations. #ProtectionNeverRests."
Later in the evening of 30 May, the Secret Service issued a statement which read, "The U.S. Secret Service has a critical mission. It is always unfortunate when people make statements that could be perceived as threats. We don't have the luxury of knowing a person's intent. Each alleged or perceived threat has to be investigated thoroughly which taxes Secret Service manpower and resources that could be utilized elsewhere."
The image did not sit well with the president's son, Donald Trump, Jr., who tweeted, "Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?"
Condemnation of the image was widespread.
Former Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, tweeted, "Our politics have become too base, too low, & too vulgar, but Kathy Griffin's post descends into an even more repugnant & vile territory."
Paul Babeu, a Republican and former sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, tweeted, "Inciting violence/murder of @POTUS is a crime. Imagine liberal outrage if conservative held up bloodied decapitated head of Obama?"
Former Republican congressman Trey Radel drew a comparison between the image and ISIS beheadings.
"Journalists & soldiers, this is also disgusting display 4 moms, dads, families who have lost loved ones to #ISIS in the most horrific way," tweeted Radel, author of "Democrazy: A True Story of Weird Politics, Money, Madness, and Finger Food."
The photo has received sweeping bi-partisan disapproval. Taken by celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, it was posted by Griffin and Shields last 30 May on their social media accounts.
"I caption this 'there was blood coming out of his eyes, blood coming out of his ... wherever,'" Griffin tweeted, referring to an exchange between Donald Trump and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly during the primary season.
But in an attempt to appease those who were offended by the image, the controversial comedienne then tweeted, "OBVIOUSLY, I do not condone ANY violence by my fans or others to anyone, ever! I'm merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."
Initially, the federal law enforcement agency did not directly cite the image in any of its tweets, but in response to Twitter users tweeting the image at its account, the Secret Service tweeted, "On it! @SecretService has a robust protective intelligence division that monitors open source reporting & social media to evaluate threats."
And an hour later after the first tweet, the agency tweeted, "Threats made against @SecretService protectees receive the highest priority of all of our investigations. #ProtectionNeverRests."
Later in the evening of 30 May, the Secret Service issued a statement which read, "The U.S. Secret Service has a critical mission. It is always unfortunate when people make statements that could be perceived as threats. We don't have the luxury of knowing a person's intent. Each alleged or perceived threat has to be investigated thoroughly which taxes Secret Service manpower and resources that could be utilized elsewhere."
The image did not sit well with the president's son, Donald Trump, Jr., who tweeted, "Disgusting but not surprising. This is the left today. They consider this acceptable. Imagine a conservative did this to Obama as POTUS?"
Condemnation of the image was widespread.
Former Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, tweeted, "Our politics have become too base, too low, & too vulgar, but Kathy Griffin's post descends into an even more repugnant & vile territory."
Paul Babeu, a Republican and former sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, tweeted, "Inciting violence/murder of @POTUS is a crime. Imagine liberal outrage if conservative held up bloodied decapitated head of Obama?"
Former Republican congressman Trey Radel drew a comparison between the image and ISIS beheadings.
"Journalists & soldiers, this is also disgusting display 4 moms, dads, families who have lost loved ones to #ISIS in the most horrific way," tweeted Radel, author of "Democrazy: A True Story of Weird Politics, Money, Madness, and Finger Food."