text: Story highlights O'Grady on Tuesday declined to comment to CNN on the postings 
   
   Secret Service personnel on multiple occasions have rushed to protect Trump 
   
   Washington (CNN) The Secret Service said Tuesday it is taking "appropriate action" after one of its agents suggested on Facebook that she would not defend President Donald Trump should someone try to shoot him. 
   
   Kerry O'Grady, a senior agent in the Denver field office, made a series of now-deleted postings on Facebook during the campaign saying that she supported Democrat Hillary Clinton and that she would not honor a federal law that prevents agents like her from airing their political beliefs publicly. O'Grady deleted the posts shortly after The Washington Examiner reported them on Tuesday. 
   
   "As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median," she wrote in one Facebook post, as reported by the Examiner. "To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides." 
   
   "But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her," she wrote. 
   
   The Secret Service said in a statement Tuesday that it could not comment on a specific personnel matter but that it was "aware of the postings and the agency is taking quick and appropriate action." 
   
   Read More ||||| A senior U.S. Secret Service agent posted Facebook condemnations of President Trump during the past seven months, including one in which she said she wouldn't want to "take a bullet" for him. 
   
   She explained herself saying she viewed his presidential candidacy as a "disaster" for the country, and especially for women and minorities. 
   
   Kerry O'Grady, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Denver district, oversees coordination with Washington-based advance teams for all presidential candidate and presidential trips to the area, including all upcoming or future trips by the president, vice president or Trump administration officials. 
   
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   Despite her senior security role, she has made her disdain for Trump and his incoming administration clear to her Facebook followers, who included current and former Secret Service agents and other people who were employees at the time of the posts. O'Grady's posts triggered at least one complaint to the office that oversees investigations into Secret Service misbehavior, two knowledgeable sources told the Washington Examiner. 
   
   In one Facebook post O'Grady wrote at 11:07 p.m. on a Sunday in October, she endorsed Hillary Clinton and said she would endure "jail time" rather than "taking a bullet" for what she regarded as a "disaster" for America. 
   
   The post didn't mention Trump by name but clearly referred to him. 
   
   In the same post, she mentioned the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch staff, except the president, vice president and some other senior executive officials, from engaging in certain political activities. 
   
   "As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median," she wrote. "To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides. 
   
   "But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her." 
   
   Secret Service employees are among those federal employees subject to enhanced Hatch Act restrictions, including these two rules: 
   
   May not post a comment to a blog or a social media site that advocates for or against a partisan political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group. 
   
   May not use any email account or social media to distribute, send or forward content that advocates for or against a partisan political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group. 
   
   Asked for comment, the U.S. Secret Service responded: "The USSS is aware of the postings and we are looking into the matter." 
   
   In a lengthy interview with the Washington Examiner Monday, O'Grady said she took down the post after two to three days of greater reflection and wasn't trying to imply she wouldn't take a bullet for Trump or any officials in the Trump administration. 
   
   "It was an internal struggle for me but as soon as I put it up, I thought it was not the sentiment that I needed to share because I care very deeply about the mission," she said. 
   
   O'Grady repeatedly stressed that she would in no way shirk her duties to protect the president because of her opposition to Trump's candidacy and support for Clinton. 
   
   "No, not at all. I firmly believe in this job. I'm proud to do it and we serve the office of the president," she said. 
   
   At the time of the posting, she said she was reacting to news about Trump sexually assaulting women. O'Grady's Facebook post came in the wake of the release of a video in which Trump and "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush engaged in a lewd conversation about women in which Trump bragged about being able to grab women by their genitals. 
   
   O'Grady said she had experienced sexual assault in college and "there was a very emotional reaction to what was said." 
   
   "But I recognize that the agency is the most important thing to me. My government is the most important thing to me," she said. "I serve at the pleasure of the president, but I still have the First Amendment right to say things." 
   
   O'Grady's negative stance regarding Trump did not end when he became president. 
   
   O'Grady posted the logo for the Women's March on Denver as her Facebook cover backdrop on Inauguration Day, Friday, Jan. 21 at 12:25 p.m. 
   
   When one of her Facebook followers commented that "none of these women represent me #justsayin," O'Grady countered that "all of these women represent me! Proud to say it! #nasty." That back and forth, captured in a screengrab of the post, no longer appears on O'Grady's Facebook page. 
   
   Women anti-Trump activists have taken on the label of "nasty woman" to demonstrate their opposition to him. The phrase is a reference to Trump's remark calling Clinton "such a nasty woman" in the final moments of the presidential debate in late October. 
   
   At 11:23 p.m. on Inauguration Day, she updated her profile picture to an artist's rendering of Princess Leia with the words, "A woman's place is in the resistance." "The resistance," with its allusion to the rebels in the "Star Wars" movies, has become a moniker for those opposing Trump's presidency. 
   
   Those posts remained on O'Grady's Facebook page as of Monday afternoon. She took the posts down after her interview with the Washington Examiner and replaced them with a backdrop of a snowy scene and a smiling photo of herself sporting ski gear. 
   
   The Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General, which investigates agency complaints of misbehavior, received a complaint about O'Grady's Facebook posts on Oct. 11, a source said. 
   
   It's unclear whether the Secret Service explicitly bans agents and other employees from engaging in political speech on social media or has written rules prohibiting it. 
   
   But in operational security training, instructors have long warned agents or would-be agents against the use of social media because it can make them vulnerable to threats by exposing their personal information and their movements, according to two knowledgeable sources. 
   
   In another pre-election post that no longer appears on her Facebook page, O'Grady shared a Huffington Post story with the headline: "Scott Baio Defends Trump's Sexism with More Sexism." She accompanied her Facebook post of the story with the words: "One word: douche. How do you like them apples?!" 
   
   In a post in late November, O'Grady shared Facebook remarks from the liberal news outlet Vox, which carried a photo of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and a story with the headline, "Donald Trump nominates Jeff Sessions to serve as attorney general." The Vox Facebook post commented, "Just a few years ago, this would have been unimaginable." 
   
   O'Grady added her own comment on the post: "We are moving our civil rights into a period of bigotry, misogyny and racism that this country has not tolerated for decades. Dark ages. I am horrified and dismayed beyond words." 
   
   O'Grady appears to have removed the pre-election posts after fellow and former Secret Service agents complained to her supervisors and the Office of the Inspector General, according to two sources familiar with the timing of the posts' removal. 
   
   At publishing time, O'Grady released the following statement: 
   
   "I serve this country with pride and I proudly diligently and fiercely protect and support the institutions and pillars of our republic established by the very same document that allows my free expression. I do so with every fiber of my being for the very reason that those institutions are in place to guarantee my right and the rights of all our citizens to voice and express our opinions and beliefs even when and especially when those values may be contrary to those of the party in power. My devotion to mission and country is only strengthened by the fact that the founders recognize the value of dissent and the freedom to assemble and voice those opposing convictions. 
   
   "They enshrine those rights for future generations so we avoid the path of authoritarian regimes that shackle their people with fear." 
   
   In response to whether her expression of her opposition to Trump would affect her ability to do her job, she said: ||||| A senior U.S. Secret Service member suggested she would not take a bullet for President Trump in an October post on Facebook. 
   
   Kerry O’Grady said she would rather do “jail time” than take “a bullet” for Trump — who is a “disaster to this country,” she wrote in a post obtained by The Washington Examiner. 
   
   She also endorsed Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonGrassley blasts Democrats over unwillingness to probe Clinton GOP lawmakers cite new allegations of political bias in FBI Top intel Dem: Trump Jr. refused to answer questions about Trump Tower discussions with father MORE for president. 
   
   In her post, O’Grady acknowledged that expressing her political beliefs on social media is a violation of the Hatch Act. The act prohibits executive branch members, excluding the president, vice president and other designed officials, from making partisan statements. 
   
   “As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle to not violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median. To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position,” she wrote. “Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides. But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her.” 
   
   O'Grady serves as a the Secret Service agent in charge of the Denver district, where she helps coordinate presidential trips to the area. 
   
   The Washington Examiner reported that her post resulted in at least one complaint to the office that manages investigations into Secret Service members. 
   
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   O’Grady said she deleted the post after several days. 
   
   "It was an internal struggle for me but as soon as I put it up, I thought it was not the sentiment that I needed to share because I care very deeply about the mission," she told the Examiner. 
   
   O’Grady has not stopped posting on social media, the Examiner reported. She changed her Facebook cover photo to an image promoting the women’s march in Denver. 
   
   She commented on the post saying, "all of these women represent me! Proud to say it! #nasty." She also posted a photo of Princess Leia from Star Wars with the words, “A woman’s place is in the resistance.” 
   
   Those images were both removed after the Examiner's interview with her. 
   
   "But I recognize that the agency is the most important thing to me," she said. "My government is the most important thing to me. I serve at the pleasure of the president, but I still have the First Amendment right to say things." ||||| Secret Service agent under fire after posting she wouldn't take bullet for Trump 
   
   CLOSE The agent, Kerry O’Grady, leads the Secret Service’s Denver district, which oversees coordination with Washington-based advance teams for all presidential candidate and presidential trips to the area. USA TODAY NETWORK 
   
   The Secret Service is "taking appropriate action" after a special agent wrote a Facebook post suggesting she wouldn't take a bullet for Donald Trump if he were president. 
   
   A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed that the agency was aware of Facebook posts made by special agent Kerry O'Grady, but wouldn't elaborate on them further because it is a personnel matter. 
   
   The posts were reportedly written in October but came under the spotlight after a Washington Examiner article on Tuesday. Screenshots of them have since circulated social media, as critics call for her to be fired. 
   
   According to CNN, her post read: "As a public servant for nearly 23 years, I struggle not to violate the Hatch Act. So I keep quiet and skirt the median. To do otherwise can be a criminal offense for those in my position. Despite the fact that I am expected to take a bullet for both sides. But this world has changed and I have changed. And I would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for what I believe to be disaster to this country and the strong and amazing women and minorities who reside here. Hatch Act be damned. I am with Her." 
   
   The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, bars certain federal employees from engaging in political activity to promote fairness and nonpartisanship within the workplace. The Secret Service is among the agencies affected by the Hatch Act. 
   
   O'Grady told the Examiner in an interview that she took down the posts after two or three days and that she wouldn't shirk her duties to protect the president, despite her support of Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. 
   
   "It was an internal struggle for me but as soon as I put it up, I thought it was not the sentiment that I needed to share because I care very deeply about the mission," she said. 
   
   Twitter took notice, calling for O'Grady's firing. 
   
   Secret Service Agent Kerry O'Grady: "I wouldn’t take a bullet for Trump". RT if you also think she must be fired by the end of day! pic.twitter.com/Maw3l8nc2V — Tennessee GOP (@TEN_GOP) January 24, 2017 
   
   🔥YOU'RE FIRED! 
   
   
   
   Senior Secret Service agent Kerry O'Grady suggests she wouldn't take 'a bullet' for Trump#MAGA 
   
   
   
   🔥https://t.co/Jaju0PjLA2pic.twitter.com/p4oV5zyNX5 — CC (@ChristiChat) January 24, 2017 
   
   Kerry O'Grady the agent in charge of the secret service in #Denver says #Trump is a disaster for the country. Kerry leave this country!! — Charlie C (@Maxzen2004) January 25, 2017 
   
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target: – The Secret Service exists in part to protect the president, which is exactly why the agent in charge of the Denver district is now in hot water. In a since-deleted Facebook post from October, highlighted by the Washington Examiner, Kerry O'Grady explained she "would take jail time over a bullet or an endorsement for [Trump]," whom she described as a "disaster to this country" and to the "women and minorities who reside here." Not only did the post suggest O'Grady wasn't prepared to fulfill her job description if need be, but it also violated the Hatch Act banning certain executive branch members from making partisan statements, which O'Grady herself acknowledged, per the Hill. O'Grady tells the Examiner that she is a sexual assault victim and her comments were "a very emotional reaction" to claims that Trump had sexually assaulted women. But she says she also regretted her action after a few days. "I firmly believe in this job. I'm proud to do it and we serve the office of the president," she says, noting her personal feelings toward Trump will not get in the way of her duties. Her comments may, however. A Secret Service rep tells CNN that it is "taking quick and appropriate action" after the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General reportedly received at least one complaint. Critics have suggested O'Grady should be fired, per USA Today.