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Donald Trump's Former Butler Accused Of Posting Obama Death Threats On Facebook

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Donald Trump's former butler has drawn the attention of Secret Service for threats online he's made against President Barack Obama.

Anthony Senecal, who served the presumptive Republican nominee at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, has a Facebook page filled with incendiary comments. Many of the posts are directed at the president and his family. The posts were first reported by Mother Jones.

In one message from September 2015, Senecal said the military should hang Obama for treason and other "high crimes."

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"This character who I refer to as zero (0) should have been taken out by our military and shot as an enemy agent in his first term !!!!! Instead he still remains in office doing every thing he can to gut the America we all know and love !!!!! Now comes Donald J Trump to put an end to the corruption in government !!!! The so called elite, who are nothing but common dog turds from your front lawn are shaking in their boots because there is a new Sheriff coming to town, and the end to their corruption of the American people (YOU) is at hand !!!! I cannot believe that a common murder is even allowed to run (killery clinton) OR that a commie like bernie is a also allowed to also run !!!!" Senecal's Facebook post reads, according to Mother Jones.

In another that month, he described Obama, a Christian, by using a slur for a member of the Muslim faith. In that post, he wrote that he does not speak for Trump: "This is my opinion, only!!!!"

Senecal declined to accept a reporter's call placed to the antiques dealer in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he works, but told Mother Jones he wrote the posts.

"I wrote that. I believe that," Senecal told Mother Jones.

Trump's campaign, criticized in the past for the way it's reacted to the racist comments of some supporters, condemned the posts.

"Tony Senecal has not worked at Mar-a-Lago for years, but nevertheless we totally and completely disavow the horrible statements made by him regarding the president and first family," spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement.

A recent profile of Senecal in The New York Times reported that after he tried to retire in 2009, Trump kept him on as an unofficial historian at Mar-a-Lago.

The Secret Service said Thursday it is "aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation." Such an investigation routinely involves a face-to-face interview with someone thought to have made threats against the president or another protected official.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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