A pair of Gretna, Louisiana, police officers have been fired after one officer wrote a threatening social media post suggesting Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be killed.

Gretna Police Officers Charlie Rispoli and Angelo Varisco were fired Monday for the violent suggestion directed toward Ocasio-Cortez, reports The Times-Picayune. Rispoli posted a fake news story about the freshman congresswoman with the threat.

“This vile idiot needs a round… & I don't mean the kind she used to serve,” he wrote referring to her past as a bartender.

Sometime after the article was posted, Varisco liked the post and was also subsequently punished. Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson told media in a press conference Monday the two violated the department's social media policy.

"These officers have certainly acted in a manner which was unprofessional, alluding to a violent act to be conducted against a sitting U.S. [congresswoman], a member of our government," Lawson said. "We are not going to tolerate that.”

Lawson and the department had to contact Facebook about the deleted post. They discovered Varisco was the only other officer to engage. Initially, Rispoli was put on administrative leave without pay early Monday. However, due to a storm of backlash from the community, Lawson was forced to terminate the officers.

Both officers had just completed a racial bias training intended to make officers think before they post prior to the incident, reports WDSU.

Rispoli was with the department since 2005 and Varisco was hired three years ago.

The comment came days after President Donald Trump attacked Democratic Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar on Twitter.

Almost two weeks ago, he suggested they return to their native countries if they hated America. The racist and xenophobic tweets were also inaccurate. All four Congresswomen are American citizens. Only Omar was born outside of the U.S. as she is a native of Somalia.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to the firing on Twitter and charged Trump for stoking racist vitriol and violence toward her and her colleagues.

This is Trump’s goal when he uses targeted language & threatens elected officials who don’t agree w/ his political agenda. It’s authoritarian behavior.

The President is sowing violence. He’s creating an environment where people can get hurt & he claims plausible deniability. https://t.co/GuYKPGzSLm

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 22, 2019

Journalist Jemele Hill also called out the president for inciting violence.

So I guess Trump and his sycophants won’t be happy until someone carries out a physical threat against these women. They are literally begging for this to be done. I really pray for the safety of these women. Just disgusting how they’re being used as bait. https://t.co/2zYn9CmeA7

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 22, 2019

Over the weekend, the Illinois Republican County Chairman's Association has also taken heat for posting a meme depicting the four changemakers as a "political jihad" hellbent on destroying America.

"Political Jihad is their game. If you don't agree with their socialist ideology, you're racist," the caption of the meme read.

According to USA Today, the association apologized and removed the image.

Angelo-Varisco

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