The Secret Service is investigating Trump's 'Second Amendment' comments

It's no laughing matter.
 By 
Marcus Gilmer
 on 
The Secret Service is investigating Trump's 'Second Amendment' comments
Donald Trump has been spoken to by the Secret Service. Credit: Richard Ellis/Getty Images

Less than 24 hours after suggesting "Second Amendment people" might be able to do something about Hillary Clinton's judicial appointments as president, the Secret Service has acknowledged they're looking into Donald Trump's comments.

Speaking a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday, Trump said, "If [Clinton] gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," he said. "Although the Second Amendment people maybe there is, I don't know."

In the uproar that followed and with accusations flying that Trump had suggested someone shoot Clinton, Trump's campaign insisted it was a comment about "the power of unification" and dismissed the controversy as a product of "dishonest media."


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The Secret Service acknowledged on Tuesday afternoon they were aware of Trump's comments but then confirmed on Wednesday afternoon to CNN's Jim Sciutto that the agency had had multiple conversations with the Trump campaign.

According to another reporter from CNN, the Trump campaign insisted to the Secret Service that Trump did not intend to incite violence. There's no word as to what the nature of the conversations were or if Trump was directly involved.

A call to the Secret Service by Mashable went to voicemail and has yet to be returned.

Later Wednesday afternoon, Trump denied that he had met with Secret Service.

At a Hillary Clinton rally on Wednesday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, secret service agents were in visible positions on stage. A week ago, the agents had to surround Clinton as animal rights protesters drew close to the stage during a speech.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The fallout has continued with the Trump campaign and supporters doing damage control while others level criticism at Trump for his comments.

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Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

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