A young woman from Turlock is currently under investigation by the United States Secret Service regarding a post she made on her Facebook page regarding US President Barack Obama, according to Brian Leary, USSS Spokesperson.
Some people saw Denise Helms ranting on Facebook regarding Tuesday night’s election and Obama’s reelection.
“Another 4 years of this (N-word),” Denise Helms wrote on her Facebook. “Maybe he will get assassinated this term!”
Helms Facebook account has been deactivated since the post was made, which was posted directly after the President won reelection for a second term on Tuesday evening.
Fox40 visited Helms while she was working at the local Cold Stone Creamery in Turlock to conduct an interview with her regarding the post. The complete interview video can be seen on the Fox40 website.
“I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal,” Helms told Fox40. “The assassination part is kind of harsh. I’m not saying I’d go do that or anything like that, but if it was to happen I don’t think I’d care one bit.”
Fox40 asked her if it really wouldn’t bother her if someone assassinated the President, to which Helms responded, “Well it’s not something I would dwell on. It’s not something I would be upset about.”
During the interview, Helms kept reiterating that she believed she had done nothing wrong.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong. I didn’t say, ‘Hey someone go do this,’” Helms stated to Fox40.
USSS Spokesperson Brian Leary said, “People have the right to free speech. We also have the right and an obligation to determine a person’s intent when they say something.”
Although Helms did use the racial slur in regards to the President in her post, she stated that she does not consider herself racist.
While Helms will most likely not get into any trouble legally over her comments, she did lose her job at Cold Stone Creamery in Turlock due to it.
“She is definitely not employed here anymore,” stated Cold Stone Creamery Store Manager Chris Kegle. “We had not a clue about any of that until Fox40 did the report, and we instantly fired her for it.”
Should the US Secret Service consider Helms a credible threat, she would face a Class D felony charge.
“Any time we receive information we have to make an assessment on things like veracity and/or urgency while also considering context and dangerousness,” stated Leary. “Once the assessment is made, the appropriate follow up has to be determined.