Jemele Hill, a writer for the Atlantic, now says a tweet that alluded to a possible assassination of President Trump during the State of the Union Tuesday night was not meant to be threatening.
“When I tweeted ‘GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET,’ in no way was I suggesting any physical harm to the president,” Hill tweeted Wednesday evening. “I have used this phrase many times in my Twitter history, always in lighthearted ways, and removed from the context of the movie.”
The film that Hill is referring to is “Malcolm X” starring Denzel Washington as Malcolm X who was murdered in 1965. Three members of the Nation of Islam, the group for which he was spokesman and had criticized the year before he was killed, were convicted in the killing.
In the 1992 movie, adapted from reported events, Malcolm X was killed at a speaking event where individuals in the audience started a commotion, yelling, “Get your hand out of my pocket!” When Malcolm X’s bodyguards moved to break up the fight, Malcolm X was shot by a man with a sawed-off shotgun and then shot repeatedly by two men with handguns.
The original tweet, which said “Nah, she gotta yell: GETCHO HAND OUT MY POCKET” has attracted the attention of the U.S. Secret Service, which told the Washington Examiner they’re “aware” of Hill’s tweet. The Secret Service declined to comment on any specific investigations or inquiries into threats against those they protect.
A spokesperson for the Atlantic referred the Washington Examiner to Hill’s latest tweets.
Hill further defended her use of the phrase, claiming that she had tweeted it out “many times” in “lighthearted ways” to suggest distracting from or escaping situations.
“So, FYI .. i literally have used GETCHO HAND OUT OF MY POCKET a bunch of other times on Twitter, and always in a manner where you want to escape or distract from a situation,” Hill tweeted. “Never in a way that was harmful or malicious.”
A review of Hill’s Twitter history shows she has used the phrase seven times since joining the platform in 2009, often without extensive context to what she was referring to. One such instance took place when she suggested former NFL wide receiver Donte Stallworth yell the phrase out at a press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2014, but Stallworth said he would have to have been paid beforehand.
@jemelehill ha! I would have had needed cash in hand first for that one.
— Donté Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) September 19, 2014
Hill has been a vocal opponent of Trump and his policies since his election in November 2016. Her intense political opinions, and her tendency to publicly post those on Twitter, led to multiple clashes with leadership at ESPN, her former employer, and eventually led to a buyout of her contract. She then got a job writing for the Atlantic last year.
One topic that Hill has been very passionate about is the circumstances surrounding quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has not played in an NFL game since 2016. Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL, accusing team owners of agreeing collectively to not sign Kaepernick due to his national anthem protests, where he would kneel during the national anthem before NFL games. His protests encouraged similar protests from NFL players.
Hill is currently listed as a “staff writer” for the Atlantic and covers sports, race, politics, and culture. The Atlantic has not publicly addressed Hill’s tweets or any disciplinary action for them. Her latest article for the organization was how the NFL was “permanently sacrificing its decency” in a so-called “truce with Trump.”
