State House Candidate Loses Support From Democrats After Alleged Posts Calling For Violence Against Trump Supporters Resurface

Meet Shelly Kates Headen, a Democrat candidate for NC House.

She hoped for an attack on U.S. soil targeting red states

She should drop out immediately. She doesn’t belong anywhere public office

Psychotic behavior pic.twitter.com/zypCgliKYC

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 11, 2026

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A LinkedIn message compared Trump and his supporters to Nazis, saying Trump was “getting close to surpassing Hilter [sic]” and that the “MAGA cult may be more destructive and evil than the Nazis.”

The posts were online as recently as Friday, but WRAL wasn’t able to independently confirm that Headen authored the posts. Headen hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment, but she has acknowledged having made anti-MAGA and anti-Trump posts in the past. She told The Assembly that she couldn’t remember the exact language of those posts and that she didn’t remember writing the comment about the people of Alabama and Louisiana.

The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus has since assigned responsibility for the posts to Headen. “Shelly Headen’s posts are unacceptable and do not reflect the values we expect of our candidates,” the caucus said in a statement to WRAL Friday. “The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus condemns these comments without qualification and will not support Shelly Headen’s candidacy.”

The Guilford County Democratic Party is also withdrawing financial, operational and organizational support, saying in a statement Thursday that language referencing political violence is “completely indefensible.”

The race between Headen and Blust is one of only a few House races that are considered competitive and that the GOP is targeting as it attempts to keep its majority in the chamber. North Carolina began sending absentee ballots on Sept. 4, marking the start of voting in the general election. Election Day is Nov. 3.

In her interview with The Assembly, Headen stood by her anti-Trump and anti-Maga views but downplayed previous social media posts on those topics and vowed to continue competing for the seat.

“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 told the online news magazine. “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.”

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Breitbart: Shelly Headen was pictured at Dachau Concentration Camp with the caption “Concentration Camp in Germany….. This is where Trump supporters belong” #ncpol https://t.co/iJ3bLPHTwo pic.twitter.com/3vw8sMstkf

— NC House Republicans (@NCHouseGOP) September 11, 2026

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Headen’s personal and campaign accounts are now deactivated on Facebook, as well as her X account. When attempting to reach the accounts, a message on the platform states, “This content isn’t available right now. When this happens, it’s usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it’s been deleted.”

However, her campaign website is still active, along with her ActBlue account to receive contributions. She says on the fundraising page, “I never thought I’d be running for the House, but watching the decisions being made in Raleigh that affect each one of us, I can no longer sit on the sidelines because I know we can do better.”

Local Democrats and the state party have said they’ve pulled support for her campaign, but most of the condemnations from fellow Democrats have come from spokespersons and not the candidates themselves.

One example is Democrat former Governor Roy Cooper, who has been photographed at numerous events with Headen and accepted three contributions to his U.S. Senate campaign from her via ActBlue.

Cooper himself has not weighed in on the disturbing posts. In a statement to Breitbart News, a Cooper spokesperson said, “These remarks are reprehensible — Roy strongly condemns them and all forms of political violence and he believes it’s up to all of us to speak responsibly.”

Notably, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D), who is Jewish, has not made any public comments or responded to at least two separate media inquiries to his office.

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