"Kill Obama" Facebook Poll Investigated By Secret Service

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service is investigating an online survey that asked whether people thought President Barack Obama should be assassinated, officials said Monday.

The poll, posted Saturday on Facebook, was taken off the popular social networking site quickly after company officials were alerted to its existence. But, like any threat against the president, Secret Service agents are taking no chances.

"We are aware of it and we will take the appropriate investigative steps," said Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesman. "We take of these things seriously."

The poll asked respondents "Should Obama be killed?" The choices: No, Maybe, Yes, and Yes if he cuts my health care.

The question was not created by Facebook, but by an independent person using an add-on application that has been suspended from the site.

"The third-party application that enabled an individual user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning," said Barry Schnitt, Facebook's spokesman for policy.

Because the application was disabled, the responses to the nonscientific polls are not available.

"We're working with the U.S. Secret Service, but they'll need to provide any details of their investigation," Schnitt said.

Comments

[NotStarvingArtist]

01:00 AM on 10/05/2009

It has been six days since this was first posted. Why haven't there been any arrests yet?

[Ifticar2]

09:51 PM on 10/01/2009

What is not reported in any of the stories is the results from that poll. 97% of the people who answered the Poll said NO. I do wonder about the 20 or so people that responded with other than NO.

[6666666666]

08:58 PM on 10/01/2009

i say NO for not killing him bc he just SHOULDN'T be the president of US!

[lesterhunt]

07:04 PM on 09/30/2009

Stop the presses! An anonymous jerk wrote something extremely offensive on the internet! Omygodomygodomygod! What'll we do???

Seriously, people, what would you do if you or yours were ever subjected to a real and serious threat?

[Victor333]

01:53 PM on 10/01/2009

If you belief murder threats to merely be "offensive" then I'm afraid you qualify as mentally ill. You as a sick individual that needs to seek medical help ASAP.

[yankeegirl69]

12:33 PM on 09/30/2009

What happened to all of todays(9/30) posts???

[Steve Brant]

03:38 AM on 09/30/2009

Tom Friedman has an excellent column on this problem in today's NY Times..

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/opinion/30friedman.html

[gaiuscaprica]

11:29 PM on 09/29/2009

I'm off-topic here but someone replied to me with the following "Put down that kool-aid..." I'm perplexed.
I have posted enough on this topic to hope you can forgive the indulgence.
Cheers.

[thepoliticalcat]

11:28 PM on 09/29/2009

Come on, Los Federales, do your job! Title 18 of the US Code specifies the crime, lays out its elements, and prescribes the penalty. Throw the book at these morons. I'm sick and tired of h8 speech masquerading as free speech.

[9liberal]

09:04 PM on 09/29/2009

This has got to stop. All these threats are scaring the heck out of me. We need to arrest the perps who are threateing my president. I've had it

[gaiuscaprica]

11:36 PM on 09/29/2009

9liberal-
So they threaten the President and you get scared?
reminds me of a joke - mom to son-'Put on a Sweater! I Feel a Draft!!'

[KarateKid]

06:56 PM on 09/29/2009

I hope the Patriot Act can be used against these cretins. Wouldn't that be an ironic use, busting those who most likely supported the act in the first place. I hope the Secret Service get them all.

[wtrichard95]

03:03 PM on 09/29/2009

Facebook is having a lots of issues. I my self found a lot. This one is one of them. if we search with facebook issue we will find a lot.
i.e http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-facebook-hack-codes-and-tips-to-show-off-your-geeky-skills/ or
http://www.techunits.com/blog/2009/05/16/facebook-hack-attacks.html
etc.

Regards
Richard

[annie0107]

02:11 PM on 09/29/2009

Destroy the American taliban.

[Milex]

01:18 PM on 09/29/2009

Reagan is dead. What's your point? The POTUS is who we're talking about.

[BobABooey]

12:45 PM on 09/29/2009

I'm surprised these hillbillies would even have the capacity to post on facebook.

[Jack78]

10:01 AM on 09/30/2009

Hillbillie? Think again;

"Jesse Farmer, of Bumbalabs in Palo Alto, Calif., has given permission for Facebook to reveal that he was the developer, but, significantly, not the author behind the poll that nauseated many Monday.


He says that he knows the Facebook identity of the poll's author and one presumes that this author might have received a social call from the Secret Service.

Farmer's own chat with the service he describes as lasting 15 minutes and being "friendly," although he won't comment on specifics.

Perhaps it might amuse some and appall others to discover that he is an OBAMA SUPPORTER.

He told me: "I went to school at the University of Chicago (SB Mathematics, '06), where he was my state senator. I volunteered for him in the primaries, worked with the California data team, and canvassed in N. Michigan during the general."

[Heavenhound]

12:12 PM on 09/29/2009

In a truly free society, people are free to say anything they wish. But that freedom must stop at the point where it threatens the freedom--i.e., the life, livelihood, or well-being--of ANY other person, whoever he/she may be. Such threats constitute hate speech, and those who soberly issue them should be subject to every penalty the law allows. (For some blowhard with five or six drinks under his belt, a night in the lockup to think about his ill-considered remarks is probably enough in most cases, but there should be follow-up on such persons.) It seems at least reasonable to me that there should be legislation to confiscate firearms and perhaps even driver's licenses owned by anyone, intoxicated or sober, who threatens another person.

[thepoliticalcat]

11:24 PM on 09/29/2009

I agree with you, but US law views those who threaten the life of the President or anyone in the line of succession with an especially jaundiced eye. Title 18 of the US Code of Criminal Procedure specifies the elements and penalty for the crime of threatening the life of the President. These h8mongers have gotten away with this for too long. The authorities need to act NOW to put a stop to this foolishness.