A 1980s television star who rose to fame in the sitcom "The Dukes of Hazzard," which featured a Dodge Charger bearing a giant Confederate flag, accused President Joe Biden of being a traitor and suggested he be publicly executed.
Actor John Schneider, 63, responded to a tweet from Biden on Wednesday evening, saying, "Mr. President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung (sic). Your son too. Your response is..?"
Schneider was a lead actor in the 1980s hit sitcom "The Dukes of Hazzard," which centered around a pair of brothers who lived in a fictional county in Georgia. He played Beauregard "Bo" Duke, who shared his name with famed Civil War general P.G.T. Beauregard.
On the same day he posted the tweet, Schneider was named runner-up in the finale of the Fox singing competition "The Masked Singer." He performed as a crooning doughnut.
Schneider's tweet was in reference to a message from Biden earlier in the day in which the president lashed out at Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump. Biden said Trump "poses many threats to our country ... but the greatest he poses is to our democracy. If we lose that, we lose everything."
Schneider's response received hundreds of thousands of views before it was deleted.
Some media outlets reported that the Secret Service, which is entrusted with safeguarding the first family, had opened an investigation into the matter.
Secret Service spokesman Steven Kopek said the agency was "aware of the comments made by Mr. Schneider" but would not confirm or deny an investigation was underway "as a matter of practice."
"We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees," Kopek added.
A call to Schneider's agent and agency were not immediately returned.
Schneider told entertainment news site Deadline that his comments were misconstrued.
"I absolutely did not call for an act of violence or threaten a U.S. president as many other celebrities have done in the past," he said. "I suggest you re-read my actual post."
He further added that he was "entitled" to have his opinion, adding "that some of our nation's leaders in Washington have lost their way."
Schneider is not the first celebrity to face severe backlash for statements or action made against a sitting president. Comedian Kathy Griffin was fired from CNN for displaying a gory, bloody photo with Trump's fake severed head in 2017.
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Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times©2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
