An Atlantic writer said on Feb. 5 that someone should have assassinated President Donald Trump.
Jemele Hill, who was fired from ESPN after her commentary on the sports network became increasingly political, made the comment during Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Actor Desus Nice made a comment on Twitter that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) should shout out during the speech and say “whose mans is this.”
Hill replied in a now-deleted tweet, saying: “Nah, she gotta yell: GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET.”
Nah, she gotta yell: GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET https://t.co/Yi2xYOx00U
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 6, 2019
According to the New York Times, the phrase was uttered to distract the bodyguards of Malcolm X on Feb. 21, 1965.
The black civil rights militant activist was speaking to a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity when the disturbance broke out.
When Malcolm X’s bodyguards rushed to quiet the person who spoke out, a man rushed forward and shot him in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired handguns, hitting him 16 times.
Hill’s reference sparked disbelief among many Twitter users.
The joke here is that AOC should have participated in the assassination of the president https://t.co/p6YQiiLdLe
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 6, 2019
@JemeleHill just publicly advocated for the assassination of President Trump.https://t.co/S6C2Jy1SXe … https://t.co/7IMWqUxz0T
— Blaine Shores (@bdshores) February 6, 2019
Will @TheAtlantic be cool with a reporter basically calling for the presidents assassination? Stay tuned…
— Sushi Mane (@GervinTwittiot) February 6, 2019
“The joke here is that AOC should have participated in the assassination of the president,” wrote Alex Griswold, a Washington Free Beacon reporter. “Good thing the Atlantic didn’t hire Kevin Williamson,” he added, referring to how the left-leaning magazine hired and quickly fired Williamson, a conservative columnist, because of comments he made about abortion.
“She saying AOC should distract members in the room so someone else can assassinate Trump. It’s a reference to the shooting of Malcolm X,” added Stephen Miller, a Fox News columnist. He tagged Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.
“Maybe the @SecretService should pay you a visit, and give you something to really complain about,” added another user.
“Some of us get this reference, Jemele. You’re not going to face any consequences for joking about an assassination. But it would be top news if someone said this about Obama,” added another user.
Neither Goldberg nor Hill has responded to the criticism.
A Tyler County woman was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on charges of threatening to kill President Donald Trump. https://t.co/Hs85GTYJzL
— WBOY 12News (@WBOY12News) February 6, 2019
Woman Indicted on Charges of Threatening to Kill the President
A West Virginia woman was recently indicted on charges of threatening to kill Trump.
A federal grand jury indicted Taryn Corrine Henthorn, 25, of Middlebourne on Feb. 5 on three counts of “threatening to kill the President of the United States,” reported WTRF.
She allegedly posted threats against Trump on Facebook and elsewhere. She faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for each count.
The indictment came after an investigation by the Secret Service.