The Secret Service Is Investigating a Conservative's Obama Assassination Tweets Posted 6:00 PM 03/21/10 
 
 Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 
 
 As Congress entered the final round of debate Sunday over the controversial health insurance reform bill, a self-described conservative blogger used his public Twitter account to urge the assassination of President Barack Obama. U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Max Milien confirms to DailyFinance: "We are aware of the actual posting and are actively investigating." A request for comment from a Twitter spokesperson hasn't been returned.As the blog Jezebel has reported, Soloman (Solly) Forell , apparently enraged by the impending passage of the health insurance reform bill, used his Twitter account to call for the assassination of Barack Obama, while also tweeting that since the country survived the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy, "we'll surely get over" this one, too.But Forell later recanted his apparent threats. "I have no intent, desire or motivation to harm the POTUS," he told DailyFinance by email. "I can't imagine why you're interested in my recent tweets." he added. "Oddly enough, they've caused more of a stir than they were designed to."As Jezebel notes , making threats against the president is a federal crime, per 18 USC Sec. 871 Forell's threats were made Sunday morning -- and prompted an outcry . His response ? "Attention Whining Liberals: No one wants to hurt the precious #EMPEROR. Stop your crying. The whole lot of you are a modern day joke. #tcot"Forell's tweets used the Twitter "hashtag" of "#tcot" -- which stands for "top conservatives on twitter." That's a list of conservatives on Twitter. Using such a filter makes it easy to find tweets by anyone who uses that tag (#tcot, in this case) to search Twitter.Hours later, perhaps realizing the severity of his comments, the blogger backtracked, posting , "Let us all renounce the harsh rhetoric about the POTUS [president of the U.S.]. Several, including myself, hv used inappropriate language. Let's remain civil! #tcot."This isn't the first time social media have been used as a platform to make threats against Obama. In October, a teenager posted a poll on Facebook asking if the president should be killed. The Secret Service later said the incident was " a mistake ," and the teen wasn't charged.With the Secret Service now investigating Forell's Tweets, it remains to be seen if charges will be brought in this case. ||||| Earlier today, self-described conservative blogger Solomon "Solly" Forell posted a tweet that included a call for assassination, as well as this line: "We'll surely get over a bullet 2 Barack Obama's head!" It gets worse: 
 
 Forell then followed that tweet up with this one: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 That tag he added? #TCOT? It stands for "top conservatives on Twitter." 
 
 According to his Google profile, Forell is the author of a blog titled Barack Obama Was An American Electorate Mistake, which centers around Forell's disappointment in Obama's presidency. This disappointment spills over into Forell's other blogs, including Anybody But Barack Obama 2012, and The Audacity of Hype, which both touch upon Forrell's disgust with the "cult" of Obama, "a man who has done little with his life, but has written about his achievements as ifhe had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth." 
 
 Forell may think he's protected by the First Amendment when it comes to his tweets, but the law begs to differ, specifically 18 USC Sec. 871: 
 
 Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 
 
 You'll note however, that there's nothing specified about electronic threats. Perhaps that's why, as of now, Forell's Twitter account does not appear to be suspended; the tweet threatening the President's life was posted roughly six hours ago and has not yet been removed. 
 
 Update: While Forell hasn't removed the offensive tweets, he has posted an apologetic P.S.: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Uh, maybe the President would respect your opinion more if you didn't, you know, encourage people to kill him. Just a thought. 
 
 Update #2: Forell is now backtracking like crazy, complaining about "whining liberals" and asking that we "all renounce the harsh rhetoric about the POTUS. Several, including myself, hv used inappropriate language. Let's remain civil!" A little too late, I'd say. 
 
 Update #3: I just received an email from Twitter, dated 2:55pm PDT, stating the following: 
 
 We have removed this profile due to violation of Twitter's Rules, specifically listed under "Content Boundaries and Use of Twitter": *Unlawful Use: You may not use the service for any unlawful purposes or for promotion of illegal activities. It is against the Twitter Terms of Service to use the service to commit illegal acts. Threatening the life of the president (or president-elect) is a federal offense under Title 18, USC, section 871. All accounts in violation of our Terms of Service are permanently suspended and we report to legal authorities accordingly. 
 
 However, as of 6:06 pm EST, Forell's account appears to still be up and running. 
 
 Update #4: Sam Gustin at DailyFinance is reporting that the Secret Service is now investigating Forell's tweets, with Secret Service spokesperson Max Milien stating: "We are aware of the actual posting and are actively investigating." 
 
 And though Twitter sent an email earlier declaring that Forell's profile had been removed, it appears that only the assassination-related tweets have been deleted from his account: as of 9:00 pm EST, his account still appears to be active. 
 
 [Conservative Blogger Urges Obama's Assassination On Twitter [DailyFinance] 
 
 [The Audacity Of Hype] 
 
 [Anybody But Barack Obama 2012] 
 
 [Barack Obama Was A Mistake] 
 
 [Solly Forrell's Twitter] 
 
 [Solly Forell's Google Profile] 
 
 This Is Getting Scary [Balloon Juice] 
 
 Related: Obama Death Tweeter Being Investigated By Secret Service [Gawker]
– Secret Service authorities are investigating tweets by a conservative blogger apparently urging "a bullet" to President Obama's "head." Solomon Forell, upset by the impending passage of the health reform bill, noted yesterday that because the nation survived the killings of Lincoln and Kennedy, "we'll surely get over a bullet 2 Barack Obama's head!" reports Jezebel. He later added: "The next American with a clear shot should drop Obama like a bad habit." Forell later backed off his call, telling DailyFinance: "I have no intent, desire or motivation to harm" the president, adding: "I can't imagine why you're interested in my recent tweets." He also added a tweet saying: "No good American would ever want to see something happen to our POTUS." Forell has operated a number of conservative blogs, including his current offering entitled "Barack Obama was an Electorate Mistake."