State and federal law enforcement are probing social media posts by New Hampshire's Libertarian Party endorsing the assassination of Vice President Kamala Harris and violence against other politicians.
The since-deleted posts, which came in the wake of another assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump also have been condemned by politicians across the spectrum, according to published reports.
"Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero," the party wrote on X on Sunday, WBUR and other outlets reported.
The party later posted a follow-up message, where it announced that it had "deleted a tweet because we don't want to break the terms of this website we agreed to" and claimed that libertarians are "the most oppressed minority," The New Republic reported.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, which protects Harris, told WBUR that the agency was "aware of the social media post made by the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire," and that the "Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees."
The New Hampshire Department of Safety, which has oversight of the state police, and New Hampshire's attorney general's office said the agencies were "in communication with our federal law enforcement partners" about the posts," WBUR reported.
New Hampshire's state Republican Party chairperson, Chris Ager, criticized the posts, saying on X that "comments by the Libertarian Party of NH suggesting the assassination of political figures, including VP Harris, are condemned in the strongest possible terms. There is no room for this type of dialogue. PERIOD."
Granite State Democratic Party Chairperson Raymond Buckley offered a similar sentiment, calling the post "disgusting, dangerous and wrong," WBUR reported.
In a post to X, Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver said he "100% condemn[ed] the statement from LPNH regarding Kamala Harris. It is abhorrent and should never have been posted."
"As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities," Oliver continued. "We are dedicated to the principle of non-aggression and to peaceful solutions to conflict. This is also something we pledge as part of attaining party membership."
In a post to X on Tuesday, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party released a statement saying it "would never advocate for the assassination of a tyrannical President. That's illegal. We were merely acknowledging how some members would react to one.
"These feelings are no different than how many leftists reacted and continue to react to assassination attempts on Donald Trump," the party said in its post.
In the X post, New Hampshire Libertarians further argued that "If you celebrate the Pine Tree Riot, the War for American Independence, or the assassination of past tyrants like Abraham Lincoln, you believe that violence is sometimes necessary to advance or protect freedom."
"Perhaps you do not think it is strategically or morally correct to use violence today, but you clearly believe it is within bounds," the post continued. "Celebrating past self-defense while abhorring any current self-defense is logically inconsistent."