RALEIGH — Rep. Julie von Haefen (D-Wake) drew criticism for a post she made to social media that included a photo showing a depiction of a beheaded President Donald Trump with imagery of a guillotine.
The Wake County Democrat posted a series of images in a video on her Instagram account, taken from the “No Kings” protest in Raleigh on June 14.
After the image was noticed by the public, she seemingly edited it out of the video.
Additionally, von Haefen also deleted her X account, which may be a violation of state records and social media retention laws for elected officials.
House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) issued a statement on X.
“On the same weekend that a gunman in Minnesota targeted state lawmakers in an act of political violence, and after two attempted assassinations of President Trump within the past year, Representative von Haefen (D-Wake) shared an image of a “protest sign” that glorifies violence against her political opponents-including President Donald Trump,” wrote Hall.
“Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate,” Hall wrote. “I am examining next steps with our legislative attorneys to ensure this behavior does not continue.”
Attempts to reach von Haefen for comment were unsuccessful.
Around 3 p.m. on Sunday, von Haefen issued a statement on her official Facebook page, which addressed the deletion of the image as “inappropriate.”
“Yesterday, I posted a video on social media containing crowd photos from the No Kings protest in Raleigh. One of the images of a protestor holding a sign was inappropriate, and I later edited the video to remove the photo,” von Haefen wrote.
“Let me be clear: I condemn political violence in all forms. My focus remains on bringing people together and fighting for the values that matter to North Carolinians. Like so many, I was horrified by the violence in Minnesota. There is no place for that kind of extremism in our democracy, no matter the target, no matter the party.”
North State Journal sent a request for comment to the North Carolina Democratic Party but has not yet received a response.
Republicans had strong reactions about von Haefen’s post, including the NCGOP, which wrote on X that von Haefen should resign her seat.
“After sharing an image calling for the execution of the Democratically elected President of the United States, Rep. Von Haefen has quietly deactivated her Twitter account,” said Rep. Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) in an X post.
Jones added, “Deleting your public profile isn’t accountability — it’s hiding. North Carolinians deserve better.”
”I cannot fathom the thought of a state legislator glorifying political violence *hours* after two state legislators and their spouses were shot in their own homes,” wrote Rep. Mike Schietzelt (R-Wake) on X. “Unconscionable.”
Rep. Erin Paré (R-Wake) also responded on X, writing, “This is why reasonable people are leaving the Democrat Party in NC.”
“This is a sitting state legislator who is publicly applauding the beheading of President Trump just hours after a state legislator in our country and her spouse were murdered in cold blood. Horrible,” wrote Paré.
Freshman lawmaker Rep. Wyatt Gable (R-Onslow) called von Haefen’s post “absolutely disgusting” and said, “there is no place for things like this anywhere.
“Remember this come Election Day — are these really the people you want making decisions for NC?”
