A Louisiana police officer who suggested in a Facebook post that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, should be shot, and another officer who “liked” the post were both fired Monday.
Gretna, Louisiana, police officer Charlie Rispoli posted an entry Friday on Facebook suggesting that Ocasio-Cortez “needs a round.”
"This vile idiot needs a round........and I don't mean the kind she used to serve."
Ocasio-Cortez was once a bartender in New York City.
The story, first reported by Nola.com, included an image of the Facebook post that has since been deleted.
Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson said at a press conference that Rispoli had been fired along with officer Angelo Varisco who “liked” Rispoli’s Facebook post. The post, Lawson said, reflected poorly on his department.
“This incident, we feel, has been an embarrassment to our department,” Lawson said. “These officers have certainly acted in a manner which was unprofessional, alluding to a violent act be conducted against a sitting U.S. [congresswoman], a member of our government [and] we are not going to tolerate that.”
The two officers were fired for violating the department’s social media policy, Lawson said. Rispoli had served in the department for 14 years while Varisco had been with the Gretna police for less than three years.
It is unclear if Rispoli knew he was sharing and commenting on a post from a website that publishes satire on current events.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to Rispoli’s firing on Twitter saying, “This is Trump’s goal when he uses targeted language & threatens elected officials who don’t agree w/ his political agenda. It’s authoritarian behavior. The President is sowing violence. He’s creating an environment where people can get hurt & he claims plausible deniability.”
President Donald Trump has been feuding via Twitter with Ocasio-Cortez and three other Democratic U.S. congresswomen, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. The four women have been dubbed “The Squad.”
On Monday, Trump tweeted, "The 'Squad' is a very Racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart. They are pulling the once great Democrat Party far left, and were against humanitarian aid at the Border...And are now against ICE and Homeland Security. So bad for our Country!"
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