Report: Secret Service Investigating "Kill Him" Shriek At Palin Rally
Scranton's Times-Tribune, which reported yesterday that a man yelled "kill him" about Barack Obama at a Sarah Palin rally, now says the Secret Service is getting involved:
The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a threatening remark directed at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a political event in Scranton.The agency followed up on a report in The Times-Tribune that a member of the crowd shouted, "Kill him!" after one mention of Mr. Obama's name during a rally Tuesday for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin...
Times-Tribune employees who covered the rally were interviewed today by the Secret Service.
Spokesman Darrin Blackford said the agency takes the threat seriously and will make an arrest if it can determine who shouted the remark.
Yesterday here at TPM we'd been wondering what exactly the responsibility of Palin's Secret Service detail is in such situations, and I guess this is our answer.
O thank the gods and goddesses and thank the USSS for not making my faith in them look stupid.
October 15, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
In a way it's too bad this shout-out happened before Airhead Bimbo took the stage.
I'm sure if the SS interviewed her as a material witness in this case, it'd shake her up quite a bit.
October 15, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least they are not keeping it a secret . . .
October 15, 2008 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's far better that they don't because hopefully it sends a message.
October 15, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
My guess is that is exactly what they are trying to do. This has got to be a nightmare of epic proportions for the secret service.
October 15, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hope it does discourage any and all in a big way. Any word if the MSM has picked this up. They should be shouting it from the rooftops.
October 15, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sure Secret Service agents showing up at their door will put their fear of God into them and any people at future rallies.
October 15, 2008 1:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tell you what - it would me. I spent about 2 months terrified they were going to show up at my door cause I sent an invitation to a dinner for Alberto 'Gonzales back and wrote on it that I wanted to see him impeached and impaled and the minute I dropped it in the mail I thought - o shit.
Luckily, it was an invite from the law school alum society and I don't think they turn in their members cause they want our money.
;)
October 15, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I sure hope so. This sort of thing has to stop right now!
October 15, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Send him to gitmo!
October 15, 2008 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Senator Obama's detail should have someone at all McCain Palin rallies for just such issues... AND they should make it public. The secret service definitely needs to let it be known that no threats against Senator Obama will be taken lightly.
October 15, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Doesn't matter which detail they're on - their duties go beyond just the individual candidate. They obviously didn't hear the remark as it was made - no real surprise in a large room.
One of these McPain whack-jobs will slip up within earshot of the USSS guys, though, and hopefully on camera. It'll be fun to watch the whup-ass.
October 15, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought it was odd that the USSS wasn't all over this scary shit like white on rice. That is a serious agency full of serious people.
October 15, 2008 1:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Having to accompany the Bush twins on their drinking binges may have blunted their skills somewhat.
October 15, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, that was my argument yesterday against someone who was doing everything he could to convince me that Bush turned the USSS into an incompetent partisan agency. I didn't buy it yesterday, I don't buy it now. Bush isn't that crazy - he needed them to protect him and he wasn't about to destroy the agency guarding his damn precious little spoiled life.
October 15, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree.
But according to that commenter, you and I haven't been paying attention.
Bush and Cheney are supremely self-interested. They weren't going to fill the agency charged with protecting them with incompetents.
October 15, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly. Bush I think expanded the agency because he had the single largest security detail of all time - he really did. He dragged 5000 of them over to England, IIRC.
October 15, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops. See directly below.
October 15, 2008 1:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Think again. Since Cheney hand picks his SS people he would probably pick Bush's also. His fourth branch shadow government has a whole new set of rules. He might search for someone threatening "kill him" for a completely different reason than protecting a candidate. How it all changes with the realization that it is actually protecting a "crime family" and McCain is already a "made" guy but not Obama. Palin is a wanna be parrot of little significance who is on the same level as the fanatic racists that support her. Makes one feel sorry for Alaskans. Since Palin will not stop inciting supporters to commit violence because she's too shallow to admit that she's doing that, it makes the SS result to investigating her supporters.
For those who can't see through the Palin pretense and know that she's acting for the audience...who choose to ignore the Couric interview...you have chosen to not want to know so you can keep your already formed opinions and never change or grow. Keep spouting violence and you will be violently dealt with.
October 15, 2008 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah.. the secret service have been dragging their heels on this. Didn't hear the first one and just taking names on the second. On e would assume that in light of the first instance, they would have been on their toes for a second occurrence. I guess the Brownie System of Inept Management is well entrenched within the federal government now.
October 15, 2008 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah.. the secret service have been dragging their heels on this. Didn't hear the first one and just taking names on the second. On e would assume that in light of the first instance, they would have been on their toes for a second occurrence. I guess the Brownie System of Inept Management is well entrenched within the federal government now.
October 15, 2008 1:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hark ! I hear an echo !
October 15, 2008 1:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really hope McShame gets asked tonight about his campaign's mudslinging and smearing and how it is whipping up hate.
October 15, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
That man did it first so nener nener nender.
We are not talking trash, we are concerned that he is a terrorist and letting the voters decide we're right.
October 15, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not sure I understand your comment.
October 15, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain argues that people say awful things about him during Obama rallies. Things about his age. McCain seems to think that ageist comments are equivalent to threats of violence.
Yet another example of McCain being in touch with reality.
October 15, 2008 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure either - but the handle indicates it's a troll who doesn't know how to post, or it's a joke.
Take your pick - I can't figure it out -
October 15, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
That might be a good follow-up if McCain even mentions Wright's hate statements. But all signs are that he won't.
October 15, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good on them for doing this. Any threats should be taken seriously. Political crowds should know better than to shout death threats given the sad history of this country. I don't care how much you don't like the other guy- it's stupid, careless, and flies in the face of our tragic history.
October 15, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
What's truly tragic is that this is not history -- it's happening right now.
I've got a reason to believe
We all won't be received at Graceland
--Vernon Reid
October 15, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree with you, 100%. The USSS should have a talk with McCain and Palin, and they should stop acting like morons.
October 15, 2008 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's like asking sunflowers to stop being heliotropic.
October 15, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
You have, I assume, applied to join Garrison Kielor's Society of English Majors. Very good wisecrack with an unfortunately limited audience.
October 15, 2008 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know if it's a "they" issue. Signs are that Palin and McCain have a difference of opinion about the crazies. Palin likes 'em, McCain not so much. (and no, I'm not trolling here, it's what I believe I am seeing)
October 15, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I made blog post to that effect this morning. I think as the McCain campaign continues to go south, Palin will continue to assert her will on the McCain campaign, with little or no fear of repercussions. Assuming McCain really wants her to tone the rhetoric down (because it seems to hurt more than help at this point), what can he do if she doesn't want to stop?
October 15, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
HOT DAMN!
(and you know I'm not prone to such language)
October 15, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
McLame's spokesperson Nicole Wallace admitted on "Morning Joe" this morning that the McLame campaign has lost the spin war against Obama.
"The truth is they play dirty politics, and maybe we haven't been quick enough. Maybe we don't have enough friends in the media to carry the message. We certainly lost the spin war about his fighting a more negative campaign. The truth is that Barack Obama has spent more money on negative attack ads against John McCain than any politician, Democrat or Republican, in history."
True except the last sentence.
October 15, 2008 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I disagree: Obama does NOT "play dirty politics." His campaign has been tough, but positive and truthful.
October 15, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think technically it may be true because Barack has spent more money on advertising than any candidate in history. The exact dollar amount is not what matters, though, because Barack's ads are about 30% negative while McLoser's are 100% negative.
Not that I believe everything Nicole Wallace says, but I think it MAY be possible.
October 15, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's possible Obama pays better than McSlimer, so Obama has technically spent more on negative ads than has McSlimer.
Which is moot, of course, because McNasty ONLY uses negative ads. And dishonest, because they don't accuse Obama of insulting McWhiner's entitlement to be president. Worse, don't admit that McWimpmer doesn't tolerate being treated as second fiddle by We the people.
October 16, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wallace is also gliding over the distinction between ads about policy positions and ads that are character smears. So in her world, ads that criticize McCain for wanting to cut taxes on the wealthy are just as negative as the "Who is Barack Obama?" and celebrity ads.
October 15, 2008 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
October 15, 2008 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's be candid, here; this is not the first, second or third time an implicit/explicit threat has been reported againt Barack Obama from a McCain/Palin rally.
Now missing an opportunity to grab the offender the first time it happened is understandable; but with these repeated incidents I don’t see how it as anything other than incompetence by the Secret Service in their failure to anticipate this behavior and therefore have measures in place to identify and detain the culprit.
These after-the-fact investigations are BS and little more than CYA measures; because in my view they are clearly all but deliberately relinquishing the opportunity to make an arrest at the time.
.
October 15, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd make sure every one of the Secret Service people on Palin's detail got their walking papers on Jan 21st.
October 15, 2008 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't former Presidents get some SS detail?
Just put them with Dubya
October 15, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
And, again, you are as wrong as you can be. You can't having a protectee's detail uncovering the protectee to go bust people out in the crowd who are threatening someone else.
Let me put it in terms you'll understand: I do not want Obama's detail uncovering him to go bust some idiot who threatens Palin at one of his rallies. Ever. And since I don't want that, I can't want Palin's detail to uncover her to go bust idiots who threaten Obama at her rally.
October 15, 2008 2:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the input, Steve; but I disagree with your opinion.
The executive protection professionals I happen know deal with head of state level figures and the advance team always makes contact with the local law enforcement protection team who provide 'warm zone' or outer perimeter security for the visiting person (this is different from uniformed officers at the event). The traveling protection team always has one of their representatives coordinating with their local counterparts to respond to different threat levels.
Now in both cases these are law enforcement professionals with specific executive protection training; you're correct that the protection team will not leave their pricipal; but the local executive protection group would and should have responded.
October 15, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tell me something, guys, what is it you want them to do? Abandon their posts and go crowd-surfing after anyone who makes a threat against a candidate other than the one they're supposed to protect? Is that how you want it to work? Well that's great! Now, all your average group of Fourth Reich crazies has to do if they want to get Obama's detail to uncover him is go to one of his rallies and have one member of the conspiracy scream out a threat against Palin.
October 15, 2008 3:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
And, OT, but I was already testy enough today before I found out the hard way that there are server issues today.
October 15, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steve,
You might try searching the web for 'political executive protection' to get a better understanding of how they work.
The Secret Service has many resources at its' disposal in a situation like this- their inability or unwillingness to exercise greater engagement I personally find unacceptable.
I hope it's just that they're keeping their best cards to themselves; but in my view they need to make a very public example of why shouting out these kinds of threats are a really bad idea.
October 15, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Steve,
You might try searching the web for 'political executive protection' to get a better understanding of how they work.
The Secret Service has many resources at its' disposal in a situation like this- their inability or unwillingness to exercise greater engagement I personally find unacceptable.
I hope it's just that they're keeping their best cards to themselves; but in my view they need to make a very public example of why shouting out these kinds of threats are a really bad idea.
October 15, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is something that should have been addressed at rallies a couple of weeks ago, but better late than never. Remember the people who could not get into a Cheney or Bush speaking event for the last eight years if they had the wrong tee shirt or sign? I am disappointed in the SS for their slow moving on this issue.
October 15, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mlle Poulain: X-NAY on the SS-AY . . .
:-P
October 15, 2008 1:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
They should be investigating her since she provokes this kind of response and has never rebuked anybody in the audience for those kind of outbursts.
She has dialed her rhetoric back lately but today she repeated her line about folks being angry about voter fraud. I think that is a way of focusing the rage on the right on the idea that Obama is stealing the election. It is still pitchforks and torches time for them and the grounds for the impeachment of President Obama are being laid in these rallys.
October 15, 2008 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink