"Dukes of Hazzard" star John Schneider stirred controversy after making comments calling for President Joe Biden's hanging in a now-deleted social media post.
Schneider, who also recently finished as runner-up on "The Masked Singer," fired off the post on X on Thursday.
"Mr President, I believe you are guilty of treason and should be publicly hung," the post read, according to People. "Your son too. Your response is..? Sincerely, John Schneider."
The comment was a reply to a post from Biden stating that former President Donald Trump "poses many threats to our country."
Deadline, citing anonymous sources close to the matter, reported later Thursday that the Secret Service opened a preliminary investigation into Schneider, 63.
"We look at all threats against our protectees and, due to intent, this falls under the definition of a threat," a law enforcement insider told Deadline.
In a statement to Deadline, Schneider denied calling for Biden's execution.
"Seriously, folks?” he said. "This is my final comment on this. I neither said nor implied any such thing. Despite headlines claiming otherwise, in my post, 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. I suggest you re-read my actual post and pay attention to the words before believing this nonsense.
"It's my position, which I am entitled to have, that some of our nations [sic.] leaders in Washington have lost their way, and corruption runs rampant, both on our nation's borders and abroad. Transparency and accountability must happen in order for our constitutional republic to survive. There is no threat implied or otherwise in that statement."
Schneider starred in "The Dukes of Hazzard" from 1979 to 1985. In 2015, TV Land declared it would remove re-runs of the action-comedy series due to the Confederate battle flag displayed on the car driven by the main characters, a symbol linked to white supremacist hate groups.
The car was named after Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who inherited enslaved individuals after his mother's passing.
Schneider, whose character's full first name, Beauregard, matches the surname of a renowned Confederate army general, voiced opposition to TV Land's decision. He criticized the move, stating that "the whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand," according to Today.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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