Teacher calls for assassination of Trump and officials

A Maine teacher has called for the assassination of President Donald Trump and his officials, as Democrats continue to foment what researchers say is an “assassination culture.”

JoAnna St. Germain, who teaches at Waterville Senior High School, triggered a police investigation after she made the remarks on her Facebook page last week.

“The Secret Service has the perfect opportunity, if they choose to step up and take it,” St. Germain wrote. “You are the ones with power. Coordinate. Take out every single person who supports Trump’s illegal, immoral, unconstitutional acts. Look at the sycophants and give them what they’re asking for.”

The teacher rationalized that since she does not consider Trump a president, she is not calling for the assassination of a president. “A president is a person duly elected by the American people. Tr*mp has shamelessly bragged openly about stealing the election. He is making plans to give himself a third term,” she said.

“Secret Service, you are Americans. My beloved military, you are Americans. We, the people, are counting on you. If I had the skill set required, I would take them out myself. I’m making this post public for a reason, I promise you.”

‘I’m not backtracking a single thing’

When the post triggered backlash, St. Germain doubled down.

“You illiterate bums, oh my gosh,” she wrote in another post. “I posted knowing I’d likely lose my job and benefits. I have zero shame about what I’ve said. I’m not backtracking a single thing. I believe Trump and every sycophant he has surrounded himself with (this is not you – if you’re reading this, this doesn’t apply to you. You are beneath his notice and mine) needs to die. I believe this with the same forceful belief that Hitler and his sycophants needed to die, before they murdered 6 million innocent Jewish persons.”

‘I just threw away a decade of experience teaching’

In yet another post, St. Germain wrote: “I’m going to hold your hand when I say this, and I say it with my full chest: F*** fascism. F*** a country that suppresses the media. F*** a country that moves to weaken the education system in order to produce weak-minded people who will follow orders,” she said. “F*** a country that sends innocent women and men to die thinking they’re defending democracy when they’re really defending the rights of corporations to f*** over the very people lining their pockets.”

The teacher acknowledged she was throwing away her career but felt compelled to speak “truth to power.”

“If you’re mad at this post, knowing that I just threw away a decade of experience teaching the truth, fully knowing that my superintendent will have to fire me? If you’re mad that I’m speaking truth to power? F*** you,” St. Germain wrote. “I’ll still take a bullet to keep your child safe.”

In an additional post, she stressed that she has no remorse: “To be clear, publicly: I knew what I was doing when I did it. I’m not the least f***ing sorry.”

Waterville Schools Superintendent Peter Hallen sent an email notifying parents that the school is investigating the teacher, though he did not identify her by name. Police have also reportedly opened their own investigation.

Calls for Trump’s assassination

St. Germain is not alone in calling for Trump’s assassination. Many on the Left cheered the attempt on Trump’s life on July 13, 2024, or lamented that the would-be assassin was unsuccessful. Last month, a Democrat strategist named Lauren Young who worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign encouraged Iran to assassinate Trump. In February, the FBI arrested a Wisconsin teen who murdered his parents so he could obtain the autonomy and financial means to kill the president.

The Left’s violent assassination culture

These incidents support findings that most Leftists embrace a culture of violence that encourages attacking and assassinating political opponents. A recent survey conducted by the Network of Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab found that as much as 55% of those who self-identify as Leftists said it would at least be somewhat justified to assassinate President Donald Trump or his senior advisor Elon Musk. 

“This report points to disturbingly high levels of support for political violence, particularly targeting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” the authors wrote. “Across survey responses, nearly one-third of respondents—and a significantly higher share of left-leaning respondents—expressed some degree of justification for acts of lethal violence.”

Respondents were also asked whether violent attacks on Tesla dealerships are justified to protest Musk. Forty percent said such attacks are at least somewhat acceptable.

“These attitudes are not fringe — they reflect an emergent assassination culture, grounded in far-left authoritarianism and increasingly normalized in digital discourse,” said the report. “The reports found widespread justification for lethal violence — including assassination — among younger, highly online, and ideologically left-aligned users,” the authors added.

The report also found that the social media platform BlueSky plays a major role in fomenting and amplifying the Left’s “radical ideation.” Leftists flocked to BlueSky after Trump’s victory in November to supposedly escape the “extremism” on Musk’s X.

“The findings signal a threat to political stability and public safety,” warned the authors, concluding: “Unless political and cultural leadership explicitly confronts and condemns this trend, NCRI assesses a growing probability of real-world escalation. Given the current economic volatility and institutional distrust, the online normalization of political violence may increasingly translate into offline action.”

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