NATCHEZ, Miss. (WJTV) – A Natchez woman, who worked for U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), is now at the center of controversy for a Facebook post she made after a shooting during Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday. She has since resigned from the position and is now being investigated by federal agents.
The Natchez Democrat reported Jacqueline Marsaw’s post seemed to encourage the shooter at the Trump rally on Saturday, July 13. The former president said a bullet pierced his ear during the rally in Butler, Pa. The U.S. Secret Service said the shooter and one spectator at the rally were killed, and two other attendees were critically injured.
Marsaw, who was Thompson’s case worker and field director in Adams, Amite, Franklin and Wilkinson counties, posted on her personal Facebook page, “I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops that wasn’t me talking.”
After her post, the Mississippi GOP called on Thompson to fire Marsaw. They also called on Mississippi Democrats to repudiate Marsaw’s statements.
Marsaw told the Natchez Democrat that she removed the post after being asked to do so by a manager on Thompson’s staff. “I got overwhelmed in the moment. I am a diehard Democrat,” she said.
Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said he received a call from the U.S. Secret Service agents on Sunday, July 14. He said they needed assistance locating Marsaw. According to the sheriff, Marsaw fully complied with the federal agents who came to investigate her Sunday.
Patten said the case will be turned over to the Attorney General and sent to Washington, D.C., to determine whether charges are pursued.
Thompson issued a statement on social media shortly after the shooting at Trump’s rally. He said, “There is no room in American democracy for political violence. I am grateful for law enforcement’s fast response to this incident. I am glad the former President is safe, and my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.”