On Tuesday, Examiner.com's Harriet Baldwin reported that agents of the Secret Service visited Tom Francois, an outspoken critic of President Obama who has over 11,700 Twitter followers and warned him on their way out the door to be careful or they would come back -- for his guns. Despite the stir caused on Twitter, the story has been virtually ignored by major media outlets.
According to Baldwin, Francois was visited by federal authorities on April 11, 2013, who had what she described as a "thick FBI file- filled with screenshots of hundreds of posts."
It seems that Francois is very outspoken against Obama and likes to use programs to create cartoons.
Not only did he comply with their request to "take a look around," he even signed a search consent form and authorization to review his medical and mental health records.
Francois told the agents upon questioning that he had no intention of doing harm to the president and admitted using his First Amendment right to disagree with Obama.
"Yes, I am EXTREMELY critical of Obama in my posts, but I never cross the line and threaten his being. EVER. It's just the idea of Obama's Secret Service intruding on my life when they knew I wasn't really a threat," he said.
Francois said the agents agreed he had not threatened Obama, but were concerned about his large Twitter following.
But according to Francois, one agent issued an ominous warning: "Keep in mind, if you step over the line, we'll come back for your guns."
Baldwin added:
"They had run a background check and discovered that Tom legally owned two guns- and they asked to see them. Tom showed them his firearms. They asked, 'Are they loaded?' Tom replied in the affirmative. 'What good are guns if they aren't loaded?'"Baldwin said agents also visited his daughter, saying they would turn over all information on Francois to embattled Attorney General Eric Holder.
"He has the last word on what to do, if anything," the agents allegedly said.
Francois said on Twitter that he was "in shock" for most of the time agents were at his house.
The story created quite a stir on Francois' Twitter timeline, but a Google search revealed no coverage by the so-called "mainstream media."
Outside of Baldwin's report and several conservative blogs, Francois' ordeal has gone unmentioned.
Despite the silence by the media, Francois said he is "blessed" by the support he received from friends and followers on the social media site.
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