(The Center Square) – Legislative attorneys are meeting with the speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives to determine the next steps for a lawmaker who promoted a sign reflecting pursuit of the decapitation of President Donald Trump.
Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, spoke about the acts by Wake County Democratic Rep. Julie von Haefen in a statement Sunday evening. Members of Congress from coast to coast also weighed in as the news went viral.
“Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate,” Hall said in part. “I am examining next steps with our legislative attorneys to ensure this behavior does not continue.”
The state’s first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, the North Carolina Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee remained silent Monday morning, about 48 hours since the post first appeared.
The Center Square reached out to von Haefen’s office on Sunday at 2:51 p.m. At 3 p.m., she posted an explanation to her Facebook page. Increasing calls for her resignation followed, including the House speaker’s statement about three hours later.
U.S. Rep. Dr. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., says von Haefen “calls for the beheading of the U.S. president. These libs have lost their mind. The nation is not behind them.”
Using his personal account and not that tied to his U.S. Senate seat, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee said, “Calling for the president of the United States to be beheaded is un-democratic. It should also be un-Democratic. Tragically, it seems increasingly on-brand for today’s Democrats.”
The post by von Haefen was made Saturday morning. Her Facebook account remained active Sunday but her account on X was gone.
“Deleting your public profile isn’t accountability – it’s hiding,” said state Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus. “North Carolinians deserve better.”
Monday morning, he added, “It has been over a day since Julie von Haefen posted a picture depicting the execution of the president and not a single North Carolina House Democrat has condemned her actions. Their silence speaks volumes.”
On social media, von Haefen is accused of posting an image of a woman holding signage with the image of a bloody, used guillotine; the words “In these difficult times, some cuts may be necessary”; and a prop on one end of the handle representing a beheaded Trump. The other end also had a head, a German Nazi Party swastika scrawled across it.
Minutes after The Center Square sought authentication from her office, she posted to Facebook, “Yesterday, I posted a video on social media containing crowd photos from the No Kings protest in Raleigh. One of the images of a protestor holding a sign was inappropriate, and I later edited the video to remove the photo.
“Let me be clear: I condemn political violence in all forms. My focus remains on bringing people together and fighting for the values that matter to North Carolinians. Like so many, I was horrified by the violence in Minnesota. There is no place for that kind of extremism in our democracy, no matter the target, no matter the party.”
Von Haefen did not offer an apology.
Her caption on Saturday morning said, “No Kings Protest in Raleigh. Amazing turnout all across the Triangle today, including this event at the Capitol hosted by Wake Democrats and North Carolina Democrats.” There were hashtags for an expletive, no kings and Raleigh.
The image, however, drew the criticism. Some was on von Haefen’s act itself, others said it was the timing of the shootings in Minnesota which took the lives of a state representative and her husband, and injured a state senator and his wife.
State Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, called von Haefen’s actions “unconscionable.”
Jason Simmons, chairman of the state Republican Party, said, “The posts Rep. von Haefen shared do not show the judgment or temperament of someone to hold public office. For the good of her constituents to have effective representation, she should resign.”
Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 of last year in Butler, Pa. On Sept. 15, he was golfing in Florida when a man with a rifle was found hiding adjacent to the property in what many believe was to be a second attempt on his life.
