Conservatives want George Lopez arrested over Trump bounty joke
#ArrestGeorgeLopez trended on Twitter, with many calling for the FBI and CIA to investigate the comedian.
Comedian George Lopez has been known to push the boundaries, but conservatives say he has gone too far with his latest quip about a bounty on President Donald Trump’s head.
In response to a Instagram post erroneously claiming that Iran has offered an $80 million bounty on Trump after the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the “El Chicano” actor wrote, “We’ll do it for half.”
Lopez’s comment sparked immediate backlash among conservatives and inspired the viral hashtag #ArrestGeorgeLopez on Twitter Monday.
“You ever hear of Democrat privilege? It means you can commit crimes without going to jail, like George Lopez threatening to assassinate the president,” Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, a national conservative organization, wrote on Twitter. “When Republicans do this, they go to prison.”
“PLEASE REPORT GEORGE LOPEZ. George Lopez said he would assassinate President Trump for bounty money,” added the conservative comedian Terrence K. Williams. “We have a duty to report any threats or violence against the President, his family or anyone in his administration.”
A spokesperson for Lopez told NBC News that it “really was a joke,” but critics were not accepting Lopez’s explanation.
“For those saying that @georgelopez was only “joking” about assassinating @realDonaldTrump, do you actually believe this type of joke would have been okay in reference to either @BarackObama or @MichelleObama?” Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican for Congress in St. Petersburg, Florida, tweeted.