An aide to the Democratic co-chair of the House Jan. 6 committee ignited controversy Saturday with a post reproving the gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump for missing.
“I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops [sic] that wasn’t me talking,” Jacqueline Marsaw, a field director for Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post, according to the Natchez Democrat.
“I got overwhelmed in the moment,” Marsaw said Saturday.
Horrifying https://t.co/sQ6VB4Fop2
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 14, 2024
“I am a diehard Democrat,” she said. The Natchez Democrat wrote that Marsaw told the outlet the post was “meant for its comic value and not to be taken seriously.”
Thompson filed a very different reply.
“There is no room in American democracy for political violence. I am grateful for law enforcement’s fast response to this incident. I am glad the former President is safe, and my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved,” Thompson wrote in a post on X.
There is no room in American democracy for political violence. I am grateful for law enforcement’s fast response to this incident.
I am glad the former President is safe, and my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.
— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) July 13, 2024
Is Thompson lying when he says he doesn’t condone violence?
But the veneer of a public message from Thompson’s office could not cover up the damage done by the personal one.
In a post on X, Mississippi’s Republican Party said Thompson should “FIRE his field director for condoning the attempted assassination of President @realDonaldTrump!!!”
The post said Mississippi Democrats “must repudiate these despicable statements.”
Then you need to deal with Ashley Nervobig.
As a member of the media, this was not responsible or even okay. pic.twitter.com/4XcW6E484e
— Jenn Cheng (@THATJennCheng) July 14, 2024
Fox News reported Sunday that Marsaw had been fired
“I was made aware of a post made by a staff member, and she is no longer in my employment,” Thompson said in a statement.
During Trump’s trial on charges of falsifying business records, Thompson called for removing Trump’s Secret Service protection if he was sent to prison, according to Fox News.
