Bitter on Twitter: Wisconsin authorities probe death threats against Gov. Walker
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Critics of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took to Twitter hours after he trounced his opponent in a recall election, threatening his life and catching the attention of authorities.
Several tweets explicitly called for the assassination of Walker, a Republican who angered public sector employees and labor unions by seeking to revamp the state's beleaguered pension system.
“Somebody gone kill Scott Walker man,” read one tweet posted by user @PureeSCRUB.
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“Someone from the NRA should shoot Scott Walker in the head, GTA-style,” said another user referring to violent video game Grand theft Auto.
“Scott walker will die within the next week ive already payed for the hit,” boasted a twitter user with the handle @caleb_white
The threats were strong enough for the Milwaukee Police Department and the state Department of Justice to launch investigations to determine how credible they were.
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“All threats are handled seriously and can represent a criminal act. People cannot assume anonymity via social media while issuing a threat to another's safety or life,” Anne Schwartz, Public Relations Manager for the Milwaukee Police Department said in a written statement to FoxNews.com.
Walker’s office did not immediately return requests for comment.
Walker was the subject of a recall effort after taking on public sector unions as the state grappled with a $3 billion deficit. Specifically, he has sought to have public employees contribute more for their health care and pension costs causing uproar among the state’s public sector.
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The election Tuesday took on national significance as unions poured money into the effort to unseat Walker, with some seeing it as a test of the Democratic Party's labor coalition ahead of November's Presidential election.