Senior Secret Service agent 'would take jail time over a bullet' for Trump

The election of President Donald Trump is causing extreme reactions of support and dissent. The latter now includes a senior U.S. Secret Service agent who wrote in a Facebook post that she would not feel compelled to protect the nation's new leader.

Kerry O'Grady, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Denver district, wrote that she would take jail time over a bullet if the president's life were threatened.

A vocal opponent of Trump during the campaign, O'Grady has written several posts over the last year expressing her beliefs that a Trump presidency would be a "disaster," particularly for women and minorities.

The Washington Examiner, citing "two knowledgeable sources," reported that O'Grady's posts triggered at least one complaint to the office that oversees investigations into Secret Service misbehavior. The Secret Service confirmed it is aware of O'Grady's tweets and "looking into the matter."

In the October post, she mentioned the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch staff, except the president, vice president and some other senior executive officials, from engaging in certain political activities.

"As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median," she wrote in one Facebook post. "To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. 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."

In an interview with the Examiner on Monday, O'Grady backtracked on her claims that she would not perform her duties properly while working under the Trump administration.

"No, not at all. I firmly believe in this job," O'Grady said. "I'm proud to do it, and we serve the office of the president."

She said she took down the post after two to three days of reflection.

"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," she told the Examiner.

She said she wrote that post in reaction to Trump being accused of sexual assault by multiple women and the time when Trump's and Billy Bush's infamous "Access Hollywood" tape became public.

O'Grady, who said she was sexually assaulted in college, claimed her post was an emotional reaction to what Trump said.

"But I recognize that the agency is the most important thing to me. My government is the most important thing to me," she said. "I serve at the pleasure of the president, but I still have the First Amendment right to say things."

Many people have called for the firing of O'Grady. The Secret Service said that it is taking "appropriate action," CNN reported.

"All Secret Service agents and employees are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct," the agency said in a statement. "Any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and swiftly investigated."

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