Federal authorities investigate Marines for Facebook threats against President Obama and the congresswoman who exposed online harassment of servicewomen

By HAYLEY PETERSON/Daily Mail UK

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating a former Marine and several active-duty Marines after they allegedly posted threatening and lewd remarks online against President Obama and California Rep. Jackie Speier.

The threats were made on one of many Facebook pages that have targeted Speier, a Democrat, since she alerted the Defense Department to an online forum where Marines were posting degrading images of female service members.

The page that prompted the investigation, titled 'F*** You Jackie Speier,' has since been removed by Facebook, but another - called 'Jackie struggle snuggle Speier' has gone up in its place with similar content, including a photograph of Speier that has been edited to look as though she has a black eye with the caption, 'She burned the bacon only once.'

Threats: Several Facebook pages, including this one, have been targeting Rep. Jackie Speier since the Democratic congresswoman alerted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to inappropriate activity by Marines online

Speier told KCBS that she refereed the original page to authorities after users 'made threatening claims to both the president and me.'

Both the Secret Service and U.S. Capitol Police are involved in the investigation, according to USA Today. 

Speier was targeted online after she wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel regarding the Facebook page 'F'N Wook,' on which several active duty and former Marines had posted sexually degrading comments and explicit pictures of female service members. 

 

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In one photo from that page, which has been removed, a female Marine is pictured putting a male Marine into a choke hold. The caption reads: 'This is my rape face.'

Another photo shows a female soldier lying on the ground with a gun and the caption reads: 'Hehe... I can "bang" even when I am not on my back!'

Several Marines have since been referred to their commanders for punishment as a result of that page and other inappropriate activity online.

Enlarge 

Outrage: This is a copy of part of Rep. Jackie Speier's letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel concerning a Facebook page called 'F'N Wook'

In retaliation against Speier's letter to Hagel, several pages have popped up on Facebook targeting the congresswoman. The page that was referred to authorities for investigation was removed by Facebook over the weekend and its replacement went live on May 24. So far it has 44 'likes.'

'Welcome back my hateful friends,' Facebook user Chris LaCorte, who claims to be a former Marine, wrote on the page. 'What women's group do you think will declare a jihad on us first this time?'

Rep. Jackie Speier expressed outrage over the website in a letter sent to the Pentagon

The content includes pictures of Speier and former Defense Secretary Hillary Clinton with lewd captions and comments suggesting that women enjoy rape.

'If you get pregnant from a rape than it means you enjoyed it,' reads one remark, which was 'liked' by a user claiming to be a former Marine. 

Another post reads: 'I raped pregnant woman once. Best threesome ever.'

The moderator of the page acknowledged the federal investigation in a comment posted to the page late Monday. 

'None of the posts or pictures on this page should be suggested that we are threatening to harm another person, including Jackie Speier or Obama,' the moderator wrote. 'This page should be looked at as harsh humor and we will work with authorities on any questions they may ask.'

The message adds: 'This page is meant to distract Jackie and all liberals who hate freedom of speech. Other military pages were taken down for an agenda.'

Marine activity on Facebook has come under fire as the military faces increased scrutiny for increases in sexual assaults within the ranks. 

As many as 26,000 military members have reported that they were sexually assaulted last year, which is up from 19,000 reported assaults in 2011.

Taken down: 'F'N Wook' was removed by Facebook after Speier sent the letter

Response: Following Speier's letter, the Marine Corps warned its members to 'avoid inappropriate behavior' online

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332455/Federal-authorities-investigate-Marines-Facebook-threats-President-Obama-congresswoman-exposed-online-harassment-servicewomen.html#ixzz2UvgY443Q
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Rep. Speier Pulls Support From Breast Cancer Foundation Over Decision To Sever Ties With Planned Parenthood

By Tanya Somanader/Think Progress




Yesterday, America’s most well-known breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen succumbed to right-wing pressure and ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood, pulling around $600,000 in grants that allow the women’s health organization to provide breast cancer exams for low-income women. Today on the House floor, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) — a “big booster” for the foundation and a participant in its iconic Race for the Cure event — announced that she would no longer support the organization over it’s decision.

Noting that the foundation based their decision to sever ties on anti-choice advocate Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) “spurious congressional investigation” into Planned Parenthood, Speier blasted Komen for falling into the trap of a “political sandbox.” “A hearing has never been held,” she noted. “I guess it means that Susan G. Komen has become a 501(d)(4), because no longer do they want to be providing nonprofits, they want to become a political advocacy group,” she said.

Watch it:

Speier also pointed out the particular irony of another nearly simultaneous statement from the Komen foundation noting that the rate of breast cancer screening for women without insurance is around 38 percent. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood provided 700,000 screenings for low-income and uninsured women last year alone. By bowing to right-wing fear-mongering, Komen is helping to cripple one of its own key efforts.

Komen issued an updated statement on their decision, “Grant making decisions are not about politics—our priority is and always will be the women we serve. Making this issue political or leveraging it for fundraising purposes would be a disservice to women.” Maybe the organization should take its own advice.

Revealing Her Own Abortion, Rep. Speier Criticizes Conservatives For Failing To Empathize With Women

By Tanya Somanader

Since gaining the upper-hand in the House, Republicans have led what Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called “the most comprehensive and radical assault on women’s health in our lifetime.” Blindly constructing bills to redefine rape, to leave women to die rather than perform an abortion, and to cut off support for women’s health care clinics, the House GOP has beat the anti-choice drum while woefully ignorant of how such sanctimony affects women in the real world.

Yesterday, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) shattered that bubble on the House floor as the debate to defund Planned Parenthood neared its third hour. Speier planned to speak on a different topic but when Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) read a lengthy account of an abortion procedure in graphic and gruesome detail and described it as “child abuse,” Speier confronted his “preposterous” ignorance with an intimate revelation — she had to have an abortion:

SPEIER: You know I had really planned to speak about something else. But the gentleman from New Jersey just put my stomach in knots. Because I am one of those woman he spoke about just now. I had a procedure at 17 weeks, pregnant with a child that had moved from the vagina into the cervix. And that procedure that you just talked about is a procedure I endured. I lost a baby. But for you to stand on this floor and suggest as you have that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought is preposterous. To think that we are here tonight debating this issue, whilethe American people, if they are listening, are scratching their heads and wondering “what does this have to do with me getting a job? What does this have to do with reducing the deficit?” The answer is nothing at all.

Watch it:

Speier’s courageous revelation shines in stark contrast to members like Smith — who introduced the bill redefining rape — and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) who cavalierly detail abortion procedures without any real knowledge of the deeply emotional and physical pain inherent in such a private decision. The difficulty and danger in bringing a child to bear, and the heart-wrenching decision not to, comes with the territory of being a woman. As Speier so eloquently proves, such a responsibility deserves respect, understanding, and above all, privacy.