Secret Service is investigating Elon Musk's 'Biden/Kamala' assassination tweet
The agency is investigating Elon Musk's post about people not "trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala."
According to Bloomberg News, the agency declined to turn over records related to the inquiry.
The Secret Service investigates even perceived threats against the people it protects.
The Secret Service is looking into Tesla CEO Elon Musk's X post that questioned why no one was trying to assassinate President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to Bloomberg News, the Secret Service declined to release information related to Musk's post over the weekend, citing "enforcement proceedings." The publication had filed a Freedom of Information Act to see what the response was to Musk replying to a user on X who said, "Why they want to kill Donald Trump?"
Musk, who owns X, responded: "And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala."
Musk later deleted his message and chalked it up to people not understanding his sense of humor.
"Well, one lesson I've learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn't mean it's going to be all that hilarious as a post on 𝕏," he wrote.
A Secret Service spokesperson said the agency knew of Musk's message but would not comment further.
"The Secret Service is aware of the social media post made by Elon Musk and as a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters involving protective intelligence," Melissa McKenzie, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, said in a statement to Business Insider. "We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees."
Trump allies, including Musk, have tried to emphasize that the former president survived an assassination attempt and that there was an apparent attempt against him, both incidents in recent months, while leading Democrats have not had such close calls.
Trump was injured during a July assassination attempt as a bullet nearly missed his head during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, law-enforcement officials said they thwarted an apparent attempt when they spotted a man with a gun lurking in the woods close to a golf course Trump was on. The suspect, Ryan Routh, faces two federal gun charges.
Musk gave a full-throated endorsement to Trump after the Butler shooting.
It is true that Harris has not been shot at, but federal law-enforcement agencies have arrested multiple people who've threatened to kill her since she began her historic vice presidency in 2021. Last month, the FBI arrested a Virginia man who was accused of threatening Harris and other officials on Gettr, a conservative social-media site. In 2021, the Secret Service arrested a man who was armed with a rifle and ammunition near the Naval Observatory, the vice president's residence.
As Bloomberg pointed out, the Secret Service often investigates direct and implied threats against the people it protects, including Biden and Harris.
Most often, the worst that comes of it is a visit from a Secret Service officer. Kathy Griffin, a comedian who posted a photo of a fake severed head resembling Trump's when he was president, has said she was investigated for two months before federal law-enforcement officials decided not to press charges.
The White House previously called out Musk for his post.
"Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible," the White House said in a statement, per ABC News.
A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
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