Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Senior US Secret Service agent said she would not take a bullet for Donald Trump

Kerry O’Grady says she would rather do 'jail time' and says the president is a 'disaster'

Wednesday 25 January 2017 10:23 GMT
Comments
President Donald Trump speaks at the CIA headquarters on January 21, 2017 in Langley, Virginia.
President Donald Trump speaks at the CIA headquarters on January 21, 2017 in Langley, Virginia. (Olivier Doulier/Getty)

A senior US Secret Service agent has she would not take a bullet for Donald Trump.

Kerry O’Grady, who serves as the agent in charge of Denver and helps coordinate presidential trips to the area, posted on Facebook in October and described Mr Trump as a “disaster to this country”.

She said she would rather do “jail time” than take a bullet for him, according to a post seen by the Washington Examiner.

The Hatch Act prevents members of the Secret Service expressing political beliefs but Ms O’Grady openly endorsed Hillary Clinton on social media.

“As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle to not violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median. To do otherwise can be a criminal offence for those in my position,” she said.

“Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides. But this world has changed and I have changed.

“And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with her,” Ms O'Grady added.

The post attracted at least one complaint to the office in charge of Secret Service agents and it was deleted after several days.

"It was an internal struggle for me but as soon as I put it up, I thought it was not the sentiment that I needed to share because I care very deeply about the mission," Ms O’Grady told the Washington Examiner.

She has since posted on Facebook saying “a woman’s place is in the resistance” when uploading a photo of Star Wars character Princess Leia and also shared an image of the women’s march in Denver and said “all of these women represent me”.

These images have now also been deleted.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in