George Lopez’s Joke About Claiming Iranian Bounty On President Trump Catches The Attention Of Secret Service
The Secret Service is “aware” of a seemingly-threatening joke made by comedian George Lopez, The Washington Times reports. However, what that means for Lopez remains unclear.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Lopez came under fire this week after he commented on an Instagram post about an alleged bounty of $80 million on President Donald Trump’s head that was being offered by Iranian interests. The alleged offer comes in the wake of the U.S. military airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. An Instagram user had tweeted what appeared to be a headline about Iran supposedly offering the bounty, and Lopez commented, “We’ll do it for half.”
The comment was met with calls for Lopez to be investigated and possibly even arrested and imprisoned for appearing to threaten the president, which is a federal crime. LifeZette TV’s Wayne Dupree suggested that the Secret Service might need to get involved.
“The Secret Service needs to go to this violent lunatic’s house and arrest him,” Dupree tweeted.
As it turns out, the Secret Service is involved, although whether or not they’re involved in the way Dupree and other conservative commentators want is unclear.
In a statement, a representative confirmed that the agency, which is tasked with protecting the POTUS, is aware of the comment.
“The Secret Service is aware of the tweet made by Mr. Lopez,” the statement confirmed.
However, the statement did not say what, if anything, is being done or will be done.
“The Secret Service takes all threats against the president and or any of our protectees seriously, and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” the statement reads.
At the very least, TMZ, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, speculates that Lopez will almost certainly get a face-to-face visit from Secret Service agents asking questions. They will likely be trying to determine if the joke crossed the line into a real threat or was just hyperbolic banter.
Lopez, for his part, insists that the remark was “just a joke.”
Whether or not Lopez’s actions constituted a crime will be up to a judge or jury to decide — if he is charged. But even absent criminal repercussions, the joke could cause Lopez some headaches. Another comedian, Kathy Griffin, was also “contacted” by the Secret Service for what was considered by some to be a threat against Trump. She tweeted a picture of herself holding a prop that was intended to represent the bloodied, severed head of the president. As USA Today reports, Griffin was on a no-fly list for two months and repeatedly interrogated under oath.
