A Waterville teacher attracted the attention of the Secret Service and local law enforcement after making Facebook posts that suggested President Donald Trump and the people around him should be killed and that she would do it herself if she could.
JoAnna St. Germain said in a Tuesday post that the Secret Service “has the perfect opportunity, if they choose to step up and take it. Coordinate. Take out every single person who supports Trump’s illegal, immoral, unconstitutional acts.”
St. Germain, who is an English teacher at Waterville Senior High School, according to the district’s website, went on to say that she was “not talking about assassinating a president,” before suggesting she would do something similar.
“If I had the skill set required, I would take them out myself,” she said. “I’m making this post public for a reason, I promise you. Don’t waste time wondering if I’m okay. I’m not. If you’re okay, you’re lying to yourself.”
On Wednesday, she appeared to retract her initial statement, saying she didn’t mean that all Republicans should die.
“I meant that those in the room with Trump, who are permitting and approving his egregious actions, need to be held accountable,” she said.
Several hours later, she wrote, “I’m not sorry. I’m not backtracking. I said what I said and I meant it.”
The Waterville Police Department on Wednesday said it was aware of the posts but that the department doesn’t comment on open matters.
“Rest assured that we have collaborated with our partners in federal law enforcement and at the school to ensure the safety of everyone in the community, especially our young people,” the department said.
The Secret Service is aware of St. Germain’s posts, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told the Bangor Daily News.
“As a matter of practice we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence,” the DHS spokesperson said.
Peter Hallen, superintendent of the Waterville school district did not respond to a request for comment from the Bangor Daily News. The Maine Wire, the conservative media arm of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, shared a screenshot of what it said was an email from Hallen to parents, saying he was aware of St. Germain’s posts. He referred to a large volume of calls he had received and apologized that he would not be able to respond to all of them, “because our focus is on the matter at hand.”
“Please know that I have taken steps to ensure everyone’s safety and am, along with the appropriate authorities, actively investigating the incident,” Hallen wrote.
St. Germain shared the Maine Wire’s Facebook post with the comment, “I chose to speak as publicly as I could. I am not afraid of you.”
St. Germain did not respond to a request for comment from the BDN.
Even after catching the attention of law enforcement, St. Germain continued to post.
“Apparently, I have made the news. People are quite angry with me for stating openly that Trump and his cronies need to die,” she wrote Wednesday afternoon, following up later with a comment saying she knew what she was doing when she did it and was not sorry.
