Health Care Bill Spurs Assassination Calls on Twitter

Secret Service to investigate calls for President Obama's assassination.

ByABC News
March 22, 2010, 12:46 PM

March 22, 2010— -- The Secret Service is investigating two Twitter users who, apparently angered by the passage of the health care reform bill, took to the Internet Sunday to call for the assassination of President Obama.

"ASSASSINATION! America, we survived the Assassinations and Lincoln & Kennedy. We'll surely get over a bullet to Barrack Obama's head," wrote one Twitter user, who goes by the handle Solly Forell, and identifies himself as a conservative blogger and "'authentic' African American."

Soon after the first post, Forell tweeted another message actively encouraging someone with a "clear shot" to kill the president.

"The next American with a Clear Shot should drop Obama like a bad habit. 4get Blacks or his claims to b[e] Black. Turn on Barack Obama," he wrote on the messaging Web site.

The Secret Service investigates any perceived threats to the president or calls for his assassination.

"We are aware of the comments and are taking the appropriate investigative action. We respect the right of free speech, but in such instances we have a right and an obligation to ask questions and determine intent," the Secret Service told ABC News.

Another Twitter user who called himself THHEE_JAY and was identified as Jay Martin, tweeted "You Should be Assassinated!! @Barack Obama."

Martin, who is black, followed his tweet, writing "If I lived in DC. I'd shoot him myself. Dead f***ing serious."

As of Monday morning Martin had 1,575 subscribers to his feed and Forrell had just 321 -- both modest by Twitter's standards.

Forell's name is attached to several makeshift conservative blogs, Anybody But Barack Obama2012 and the Audacity of Hype.