Phoenix:
The US Secret Service said on Thursday that it was looking into a photograph posted on the Internet that showed a group of young Arizona men posing in the desert with guns while holding up what appeared to be a bullet-riddled image of President Obama's face.
The photograph showed seven casually dressed young men, four of whom clutched weapons and one of whom held up a T-shirt covered with small holes and gashes and bearing a likeness of Mr. Obama above the word "HOPE." The weapons held aloft appeared to be a revolver, a bolt-action rifle and two assault rifles.
"We're aware of it, and we're conducting the appropriate follow-up steps," said Ed Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman in Washington.
The photo, along with the remark "Another trip to the ranch," was posted on Jan. 20 on the Facebook page of Sgt. Pat Shearer, a police officer in Peoria, Ariz., a Phoenix suburb. The image was removed from Sergeant Shearer's page on Thursday afternoon shortly after inquiries about it to the Peoria Police Department. Sergeant Shearer, a decorated officer who was honoured in 2007 for helping to save a driver trapped in a burning vehicle, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Jay A. Davies, a police spokesman, said in an e-mail that the department was conducting "an administrative investigation into any possible policy violations on the part of our employee."
The photograph was also posted on the Facebook page of one of the young men holding a gun in the image. He was identified as a student at Peoria's Centennial High School.
Danielle Airey, a spokeswoman for the Peoria Unified School District, said district officials were conducting an investigation and working to identify any students involved. "We will also wait to hear from local and federal authorities to cooperate with their investigations," she said in an e-mail.
The Secret Service has an Internet Threat Desk that reviews online comments and images that raise potential threats to protected officials, especially the president. Mr. Obama made a brief visit to the Phoenix area on Wednesday.
"Individuals certainly have a right to free speech, but we certainly have a right to speak to individuals to see what their intent is," Mr. Donovan said.