A Pennsylvania man has been federally charged with making threats to assault and assassinate President Donald Trump, other U.S. officials and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Shawn Monper, 32, who was arrested on Wednesday, lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the president was shot during a campaign rally last July.
‘I want to applaud the outstanding and courageous investigative work of the FBI and the Butler Township Police Department, who thankfully identified and apprehended this individual before he could carry out his threats against President Trump’s life and the lives of other innocent Americans,’ Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on Friday.
She added, ‘Rest assured that whenever and wherever threats of assassination or mass violence occur, this Department of Justice will find, arrest, and prosecute the suspect to the fullest extent of the law and seek the maximum appropriate punishment.’
The FBI was notified about Monper’s YouTube account, for which he used the name ‘Mr Satan,’ on Tuesday and was able to link the account to his home in Butler.
He made several threatening statements between Jan. 15 and April 5, including that he was ‘going to assassinate’ Trump ‘myself,’ ‘ICE are terrorist people, we need to start killing them,’ and ‘Eventually im going to do a mass shooting.’
On Feb. 17, he said: ‘Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon [Musk], all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way. Remember, we are the majority, MAGA is a minority of the country, and by the time its time to make the move, they will be weakened, many will be crushed by these policies, and they will want revenge too. American Revolution 2.0.’
The FBI investigation also found that Monper got a firearms permit after Trump’s inauguration, which he commented about on his YouTube channel.
‘I have bought several guns and been stocking up on ammo since Trump got in office,’ he said after the inauguration, further commenting on his account in March, ‘I have been buying 1 gun a month since the election, body armor, and ammo.’
He threatened ICE again on April 1, writing, ‘If I see an armed ice agent, I will consider it a domestic terrorist, and an active shooter and open fire on them.’
The Butler Township Police Department in Pennsylvania are investigating the case along with the FBI.
Monper is next expected in court on Monday.
Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler on July 13. The shooter was killed by the Secret Service. A Florida man was also arrested for attempting to assassinate the president in September after he was found armed, lying in wait outside of his golf course in West Palm Beach.
Last week, another Florida man was arrested for making threats on social media to assassinate Trump.