Pasco deputy under investigation after Instagram post about killing 'Marxist terrorists'

An account linked to Deputy Jesse Francis urged others to take up arms "to defend (President Trump) and the Republic."

A Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy is under internal investigation after the Tampa Bay Times asked questions about his recent Instagram posts, including one calling for people to “defend (President Trump) and the Republic against anarchist/marxist terrorists.”

The posts were made on an Instagram account under the name Chino Wen. A reader who brought the posts to the Times’ attention said it belonged to Deputy Jesse Francis, who also has a Facebook page under the same name. Both pages are public. A background check shows that Francis’ middle name is Wen.

Francis, 41, doesn’t identify himself on either page, but his Facebook page contains several posts about the death of his father, James Blake Francis, in 2018, including a photo album titled “Beloved Father (and Uncle, Brother, Cousin, and Friend to many).” An obituary for the elder Francis identifies Jesse Francis as one of his children.

On Sunday morning, a text post on the Instagram page urged readers to be prepared to take up arms.

“When President Trump gets reelected, be prepared to defend him and the Republic against anarchist/marxist terrorists who are determined to destroy this country,” it reads. “Remember, forcible felonies (arson, felony/aggravated battery, etc) could be responded with and up to deadly use of force in self-defense and defense of others. How prepared are you to defend the Republic and the Constitution of the United States of America?”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/pasco/2020/07/28/pasco-deputy-under-investigation-after-instagram-post-about-killing-marxist-terrorists/