Secret Service says it is 'aware' of Elon Musk's post on Biden/Harris assassination
The Secret Service said it is "aware" of a social media post by Elon Musk discussing assassination attempts on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which he later deleted and wrote off as a joke.
"As a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence," the Secret Service said in a statement. "We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees."
The agency has also collected records related to the post "for law enforcement purposes" that it considers exempt from open records laws due to "enforcement proceedings," Bloomberg reported.
In the aftermath of an apparent second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, Musk took to social media platform X:
"And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala," Musk wrote with a thinking face emoji in response to another user's post that read, "Why they want to kill Donald Trump?"
The Secret Service is facing scrutiny again after a gunman was discovered hiding in the bushes at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday.
More: Armed suspect staked out Trump for 12 hours before Secret Service found him on golf course
Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, writes post off as joke amid outrage
Musk endorsed Trump after he survived a first assassination attempt in July and has increasingly amplified Trump's messaging through X, which Musk owns. Trump has said he will give Musk a leading role in a new government efficiency commission if he wins a second term.
Musk deleted the controversial post within hours and followed up early Monday morning saying:
"Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on 𝕏," he said.
"Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text," a second post stated. X did not respond to multiple inquiries for comment.
Despite deleting the post, screenshots of it have been widely shared, with some users tagging the FBI, the Secret Service and calling it "extremely reckless and dangerous" or "disgusting."
this is extremely reckless and dangerous post: pic.twitter.com/Ugy4AIUBoR
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 16, 2024
Suspect in apparent assassination attempt arrested
Trump was at his Florida golf course Sunday when the Secret Service spotted a gun barrel in the bushes near the property line. The agents opened fire, the suspect dropped an AK-47-style assault rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro, and fled, according to authorities.
The suspect, identified as Ryan Routh, 58, was apprehended shortly after and appeared in court Monday morning on gun-related charges. The FBI said the incident appeared to be an assassination attempt.
Trump was not injured and thanked the Secret Service and local authorities for their work.
In July, Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Secret Service says it is 'aware' of Elon Musk's assassination 'joke'