Simi Valley Police on Wednesday confirmed they’re investigating the alleged fabricated screenshot showing a California Lutheran University professor supporting the assassination of former President Donald Trump.
The right-wing social media account Libs of TikTok shared a screenshot appearing to show Louise Kelly, an associate professor of exercise science, replying to a Fox News Facebook post about the assassination attempt with “I hope next time they don’t miss and I really hope this isn’t the last attempt too.. I would love to do it myself if I wasn’t so far away.”
While the Chaya Raichik-run account and her supporters have targeted Kelly and the school, the professor and CLU claim their anger is misplaced, as they believe that “an unknown individual(s) created a fake screenshot of a comment allegedly posted on a well-known news and commentary Facebook page,” as the Simi Valley Police Department described it in a news release.
Police “intentionally omitted the victim’s and family’s identities,” but a CLU spokesperson confirmed the release is connected with the Kelly incident.
Investigators are looking into the alleged fake comment because its virality “result[ed] in a wave of hostile threats and messages directed at the victim through various media platforms,” police said, even though “the victim…denies any involvement.”
“The department urges the public to refrain from contacting the affected family,” police said. “Anyone with information that could assist in this investigation is encouraged to contact the Simi Valley Police Department.”
The SVPD can be reached at 805-583-6950.