North Carolina Democrats are doing their level best to distance themselves from State House candidate Shelly Kates Headen after a series of inflammatory social media posts — inducing one in which she reportedly claimed Trump supporters belong in concentration camps.
In one post, according to a report from Breitbart News, Headen was pictured smiling in front of the ovens at Dachau — the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where tens of thousands of Jews were murdered — and the caption read, “Visiting Dauchau [sic] Concentration Camp in Germany… This is where Trump supporters belong.”
In another recently-surfaced post, Headen appeared to call for violence against Republicans: “I think our only hope is an attack on US soil … preferably Alabama, Louisiana … where the stupid people are.”
Headen, in interviews, said that she opposed President Donald Trump and admitted that she’d posted on social media to that effect — but claimed that she could not remember any specific posts.
“I can’t remember what I’ve posted. I’ve been very vocal against MAGA,” she said, adding that she’d paid a firm $30,000 to go through her social media accounts and flag anything that might be cause for concern.
Headen, who is running to unseat Republican John Blust, then compared herself to Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Lincoln, suggesting that she was a martyr for the Democratic cause.
“I’ve sacrificed myself just like Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross, and Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and all the people that put themselves out there to sacrifice for our country,” she said. “If a few angry moments on social media are the end, then so be it. MAGA will keep winning if we continue with not standing up for what’s right.”
But Headen’s posts have proved too much for members of her own party to bear, and Sam Lozier, the communications director for the House Democratic Caucus, publicly condemned her comments.
“Shelly Headen’s posts are unacceptable and do not reflect the values we expect of our candidates. The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus condemns these comments without qualification and will not support Shelly Headen’s candidacy,” he wrote in a statement.
The Guilford County Democratic Party has also pulled support, stating that they “unequivocally reject and condemn” her comments because they “violate everything our party represents.”
Others have raised concerns about Headen, citing two 2024 incidents detailed in Guilford County Police reports in which she was named as the suspect and her husband a potential victim of assault. Headen released a competing statement suggesting that she was the victim.
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