Missouri legislator who said she hoped Trump would be assassinated won't resign

Facebook's website.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A Democratic Missouri state senator who posted, then quickly deleted, a comment on her personal Facebook page saying she hoped President Trump would be assassinated is ignoring calls from her colleagues to resign.

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal told The Kansas City Star that she made her mistake after posting a statement saying: "I really hate Trump. He's causing trauma and nightmares." Several of her friends left comments, and in response to one, she wrote, "I hope Trump is assassinated!" "It was wrong of me to do that," she said. "But I am not going to shy away from the damage this president is causing." Her page is not visible to the public, and the post was first reported by a conservative St. Louis radio host.

Chappelle-Nadal said she disagrees with Trump's response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last weekend, and that by saying "both sides" were to blame for the violence, Trump "made it easier for racists to be racists. As long as I have a voice, I'm going to talk about the damage [Trump] is creating in this nation." Democrats in her state are not supporting her, with Sen. Claire McCaskill releasing a statement on the comment saying: "I condemn it. It's outrageous. And she should resign." Stephen Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, said Chappelle-Nadal's words were "indefensible," and State Senate Minority Leader Gina Walsh said she "should be ashamed of herself."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Chappelle-Nadal told The Kansas City Star she has no plans to step down, since "legislators cheat on their wives or smoke marijuana and are not asked to resign. I'm not resigning over a simple mistake." The Secret Service said it is "looking into the comments."

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.