On Saturday, as Townhall has been covering, "No Kings Day" protests took place throughout the country and in Canada, with some particularly notable examples of the extreme rhetoric against President Donald Trump and his administration. One of these examples looks to have created a headache for state Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Democrat representing North Carolina's 36th District.
In a since edited video post to Facebook—though screenshots abound—von Haefen shared an image of a woman caring a banner featuring a guillotine. "IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES, SOME CUTS MAY BE NECESSARY," the banner read. At the end of each side of the banner was a crude fake decapitated head, one being Trump, the other being Elon Musk, with the latter having a swastika on his forehead.
"No Kings Protest in Raleigh. 👑," read von Haefen's post. "Amazing turnout all across the Triangle today, including this event at the Capitol hosted by @wakedems and @ncdemocrats." There were also hashtags included, such as "#lfg," "#nokings," #nokingsprotest," "#nokingsinamerica," "#raleigh," and "#raleighnc."
Wow this is sick. North Carolina State Rep Julie von Haefen (D) posted a photo from the “no kings” protest which calls for Trump to be beheaded‼️ @FBI pic.twitter.com/ETn7O6e8cu
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 15, 2025
Update: she deleted her account https://t.co/Lf8Xsj2qGt
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 15, 2025
As many have also pointed out over X, von Haefen has deactivated her X account. She's also released a statement from her Facebook page on Sunday afternoon.
"Yesterday, I posted a video on social media containing crowd photos from the No Kings protest in Raleigh. One of the images of a protestor holding a sign was inappropriate, and I later edited the video to remove the photo," she said.
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On Saturday, the same day as the protests, state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot, and state sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot. Both are Democrats in Minnesota. The suspect, Vance Boetler, has since been arrested and charged with stalking and murder, as well as stalking and shooting.
BREAKING UPDATE: Rep Julie von Haefen breaks her silence— issues statement after sharing a photo calling for the beheading of President Trump.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 15, 2025
Not buying any of this. She knew exactly what she was doing. She’s just sorry she got caught.
Julie needs to face accountability and… https://t.co/h92ZTyHMbw pic.twitter.com/FM8k69TiTO
For sharing such imagery, von Haefen is facing calls to resign from Wake County GOP and the North Carolina GOP as well.
We are calling on the resignation of Wake Democrat Rep Julie von Haefen. There is no place for promoting political violence. #ncpol pic.twitter.com/97Ualy8V1E
— Wake GOP (@wakegop) June 15, 2025
In addition to reposting condemnations of the imagery included in von Haefen's post, the NC GOP X account also reposted the Libs of TikTok account sharing their statement calling on the state representative to resign.
Their statement called the social media post "shocking."
North Carolina GOP calls on Rep Julie von Haefen to resign https://t.co/4CWrVhoGRU
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 16, 2025
Speaker Destin Hall, whom Libs of Tik Tok tagged to insist he say something, has also spoken out against von Haefen over X.
"Her disgraceful behavior fails to meet the standards expected from House members and sets a dangerous precedent in an already volatile political climate," Hall wrote as part of his post. "I am examining next steps with our legislative attorneys to ensure this behavior does not continue," he concluded, signaling that more could be coming out of this story.
On the same weekend that a gunman in Minnesota targeted state lawmakers in an act of political violence, and after two attempted assassinations of President Trump within the past year, Representative von Haefen (D-Wake) shared an image of a “protest sign” that glorifies violence…
— Speaker Destin Hall (@ncspeakerhall) June 15, 2025
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