A sampler of anti-Obama insanity

The week following President Obama’s re-election has been marked by a series of violent and racist outbursts from critics of President Barack Obama.

• In California, Denise Helms lost her job at Coldstone Creamery following an election night tweet in which she hoped for Obama’s assassination. Helms wrote, “And another 4 years of the n*****…maybe he will get assassinated this term.!!”, prompting a Secret Service investigation. After the tweet went viral, Helms defended herself on Facebook and in an interview with a local TV station, saying that she had only been stating her own opinion. “I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal,” Helms told a local Sacramento TV affiliate FOX40. “The assassination part is kind of harsh. I’m not saying I’d go do that or anything like that, by any means, but if it was to happen I don’t think I’d care one bit.”

• An Arizona woman who blamed Obama for her family’s economic problems reportedly ran over her husband with her SUV after yelling at him for not voting. Holly Solomon, 28, was charged with domestic violence and aggravated assault after she pinned her husband, Daniel Solomon, between her car and a curb, in a store parking lot. Daniel Solomon, who remained in the hospital with critical injuries, said that his wife “just hated Obama”. Even without Daniel Solomon’s vote, Mitt Romney won Arizona.

• Henry Hamiltion, 64, a Key West tanning salon owner who had been worried about his business, was found dead in his home Nov. 8, with the words “F*** Obama!” written over his will, the Miami Herald reported. Hamilton was found near empty prescription bottles and had reportedly told his partner, Michael Cossey, that if Obama were re-elected, “I’m not going to be around.” Police said they suspected no foul play in Hamilton’s death.

• On election night, around 400 University of Mississippi students protested on campus, some using racial slurs and setting Obama campaign signs on fire. Two students were arrested on minor charges for the protest. Students at the university staged a candlelight vigil called “We Are One Mississippi” the following night in a repudiation of their classmates’ actions.