State Rep. Julie von Haefen (D-NC) issued an apology to her congressional colleagues for publishing a post on social media that garnered national attention following the shooting of two Minnesota legislators. The heinous post featured the image of a protest sign with the picture of a guillotine on it along with a fake severed head that resembled President Donald Trump.
The image was taken from an anti-Trump protest held in Raleigh and immediately inspired calls for von Haefen to resign from her seat by Republicans who felt the post was in poor taste. The photo was published the same day a man opened fire on two Minnesota politicians and their spouses.
During the incident, former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman were killed. Despite the ill timing of the post, von Haefen has refused to step down from her post. “This weekend, I shared a video montage on Facebook that included an image that was inappropriate,” she said to fellow representatives on the House floor, according to WCNC. “I realized that quickly and took the post down, and I want to apologize today.”
“I apologize to members of the House, to my constituents, and to any North Carolinian who was offended by what I posted. I’m sorry everyone; every one of us needs to take accountability for when we make mistakes. I am taking that accountability today,” she added.
Jason Simmons, the chairman for the North Carolina Republican Party issued a statement calling on von Haefen to step down from her seat after posting the grisly image. “The posts Rep. von Haefen shared do not show the judgment or temperament of someone to hold public office,” Simmons went on to say in his statement. “For the good of her constituents to have effective representation, she should resign.”
Von Haefen is currently serving a fourth term representing Wake County. While the congresswoman didn’t mention President Trump by name, the visual representation of his execution speaks volumes and only serves to increase hostilities between Americans on different sides of a deep political divide.
The image is seen in a video captured of an anti-Trump protest that von Haefen posted, then later deleted after receiving backlash. A protester can be seen holding a pike with two fake heads. One of the heads bears a striking resemblance to Trump. “Amazing turnout all across the Triangle today, including this event,” the von Haefen post stated, referring to a No Kings protest in Raleigh in the summer. Von Haefen quickly deleted the video, revealing she took action because the protest sign was “inappropriate.”
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“Let me be clear: I condemn political violence in all forms,” she said in her post. “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.”
Watch von Haefen apologize before the legislature without resigning here:
Republicans and conservative pundits immediately took to social media platforms to demand von Haefen’s resignation, calling on Democrats in the North Carolina legislature to join them in their passionate plea for accountability. House Speaker Destin Hall wrote a post revealing he had started discussions with legislative attorneys to “ensure this behavior does not continue.”
“Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate,” Hall added. According to WRAL, an email was sent to legislators from General Assembly Police Chief Martin Brock, who cited the deadly shootings in Minnesota and noted he’s “working on enhanced security plans” for the legislative complex located in downtown Raleigh.
Director of the Meredith Poll, David McLennan said that politicians should be working overtime to discourage politically motivated violence, not make posts that normalize it. “I don’t care what side of the aisle it’s on, Republican or Democrat, but to see an elected official have a sign or a meme that has violence at the core of it just seems to be perpetuating the problem that we saw play out in Minnesota on Saturday,” McLennan explained. “Not everyone who sees that sign is going to commit violence, but it just makes it seem like that’s normal — and that’s never normal.”