A photograph posted to Facebook showing seven young men holding guns and an Obama "Hope" T-shirt riddled with bullets is being investigated by the Secret Service, according to MSNBC.
Four of the young boys, all of whom are white, were pictured holding guns. One of the teenagers held the shirt, which contained an image of Obama and had gunshot wounds and gashes through it. The photo was posted on the Facebook page of an Arizona police officer on Jan. 20.
"We are aware of it. Anytime information is brought to our attention that a group or individual expresses an unusual interest in one of our protectees, we conduct the appropriate follow-up," Secret Service spokesman Max Milien told NBC News.
"We respect the right of free speech and expression, but we certainly have the right and obligation to speak to individuals to determine what their intent is," he added. "We treat anything [any potential threat] seriously. We can't dismiss anything."
The Arizona police officer, Pat Shearer, said the photo wasn't a big deal and was more of a political statement.
While Shearer may be right, these types of photos should not be taken lightly. The number of threats made against President Obama may rival that of any president in history. And while it may not be a big deal to Shearer, it would be if any of these kids actually tried to act on what was done to that shirt.
Read more at MSNBC.
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