A Pennsylvania man has been charged with threatening to assault and murder President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Shawn Monper, 32, allegedly posted the threats to YouTube under the username “Mr Satan” and started buying firearms and ammunition following Trump’s inauguration. The suspect lives in Butler, Pa., the same town where Trump survived a would-be assassin’s bullet that grazed his ear during a campaign rally in 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,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Friday afternoon.
“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.”
Monper obtained a firearms permit and said he has “bought several guns and been stocking up on ammo since Trump got in office,” according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Using his “Mr Satan” account, he commented that he would eventually commit a “mass shooting” and revealed he has been buying one gun per month since the November election.
The threats listed in the document were made between January 15 and April 5, according to the DOJ.
The complaint features other threatening comments levied against Trump and administration officials. The online activity was connected to Monper’s residence.
Monper allegedly said on February 17, “Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon, 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.”
Musk has particularly drawn the ire of left-wing activists for his leadership role in the Department of Government Efficiency, which has cut wasteful spending and overseen the termination of federal employees in an effort to make the executive branch less bloated. His electric vehicle company, Tesla, has suffered financially as a result of the recent anti-Musk protests.
On March 4, the Butler resident stated he was “going to assassinate” the president “myself.” That was the day Trump delivered his joint address to Congress.
On March 18, Monper labeled those that work for ICE “terrorist people” and called for their deaths.
“If I see an armed ice agent, I will consider it a domestic terrorist, and an active shooter and open fire on them,” he said on April 1.
Tasked with carrying out Trump’s strict immigration agenda, ICE has arrested and deported over 100,000 illegal immigrants and aliens believed to be foreign terrorists or members of Lain American gangs and cartels, the New York Post reported late last month.
FBI agents were notified of Monper’s threats on Tuesday and proceeded to arrest the aspiring assassin a day later. He will face preliminary and detention hearings on Monday. The FBI is collaborating with the Butler Township Police Department on the criminal investigation.
Trump survived two assassination attempts in as many months last year, with Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shooting the Republican presidential candidate before the gunman was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper. Ryan Wesley Routh, 59, later staked out Trump’s Florida golf club in an attempt to shoot him. Before Routh could fire, he was spotted by a Secret Service agent and fled the scene. Shortly thereafter, Routh was apprehended.
On Thursday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier charged Routh for attempting to assassinate Trump in September. The state charges add to the federal counts Routh already faces, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and several firearms charges. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and could receive a life sentence in prison if convicted.