ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Powerful Democrats in Missouri are calling for the resignation of a Democratic lawmaker who posted and later deleted a Facebook post saying she hoped President Donald Trump would be assassinated.
State Sen. Marie Chappelle-Nadal acknowledged she should not have posted the comment but said Thursday she posted it amid frustration and anger over the president's reaction to the white supremacist rally and violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The president has been criticized for saying both sides were responsible for violence. Chappelle-Nadal says Trump's actions make it easier for racists to continue their behavior. She says he's damaging the image of the United States across the world.
She also said constituents in her predominantly black district are concerned and traumatized by the president's apparent support of Nazis and KKK members involved in the protests.
Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber said Thursday that the comments were "indefensible" and the party wouldn't tolerate calls for the assassination of a president.
Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay says Chappelle-Nadal "has repeatedly demeaned her office and she is an embarrassment to the state." He says Chappelle-Nadal has a long history of making "irresponsible statements," and that calling for the president's assassination "is a federal crime."
Chappelle-Nadal ran against Clay for his congressional seat last year. Both politicians are black.
Chappelle-Nadal has been outspoken in the past. She was active in protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.