A North Carolina legislator has come under fire after sharing a controversial image on social media – prompting one prominent group to demand her removal from a key committee post in the NC House.
State Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Democrat representing Wake County, apologized Monday on the House floor after posting a video montage from the “No Kings” protest in Raleigh on Saturday, June 14.
One of the images in the post included an effigy featuring the decapitated heads of President Donald Trump and his senior advisor Stephen Miller, along with a banner reading, “In These Difficult Times, Some Cuts May Be Necessary.”
The effigy of Miller was marked with a swastika.
Von Haefen removed the post shortly after sharing it.
During a speech on the House floor, von Haefen apologized.
“This weekend, I shared a video montage on Facebook that included an image that was inappropriate,” she said. “I realized that quickly and took the post down, and I want to apologize today. I apologize to members of the House, to my constituents and to any North Carolinian who is offended by what I posted. I’m sorry. Every one of us needs to take accountability for when we make mistakes. I am taking that accountability today, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. Thank you.”
That apology hasn’t satisfied Moms for Liberty’s North Carolina Legislative Committee, which has issued a press release calling for von Haefen to be removed from the House Education Committee.
In the press release, the group wrote that her post “demonstrates a severe lapse in judgment and a disregard for the values of civility and inclusivity essential to public education.”
The group also said the image promoted violent and antisemitic symbolism, noting Miller’s Jewish heritage and the swastika displayed on the effigy.
“Rep. von Haefen’s public approval of violent imagery and antisemitic symbolism via her social media post is wholly unacceptable for a member of the House Education Committee,” the group stated. “Her actions undermine the trust of parents and educators and risk normalizing divisive and harmful rhetoric in our schools.”
The group has sent a formal request to House Speaker Destin Hall, with copies to House Education Committee chairs Reps. Brian Biggs, David Willis, and Tricia Cotham, asking that von Haefen be removed from the committee.
The incident has drawn widespread reaction online, particularly on the platform X, where critics have expressed outrage over the imagery and von Haefen’s association with it.
As of Thursday afternoon, June 19, von Haefen remains a member of the House Education Committee.
