A former social studies teacher has been arrested for allegedly making threats to kill former President Donald Trump and his son, Barron.
The incident underscores that threats against prominent figures are not always just hollow words typed behind a computer screen.
Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, of Plainfield, Illinois, has been charged with transmitting threats to kill another individual.
Notably, Fiorenza had traveled from Illinois to Florida and is alleged to have stalked Barron Trump at his school prior to her arrest.
These details, sourced from the Chicago Tribune, have been confirmed by court and police records.
Detailing the sequence of events, prosecutors informed a federal court in Chicago that Fiorenza had been confronted by a sheriff in March outside Oxbridge Academy, the school where Barron is enrolled, located in Palm Beach County.
Northern District of Illinois prosecutor, Adam Rosenbloom, emphasized the gravity of her actions, stating, “these are not idle threats from a behind a keyboard.”
The explicit threats made by Fiorenza are deeply concerning.
An email dated May 21 to Oxbridge Academy’s headmaster read, “I will shoot Donald Trump Sr. AND Barron Trump straight in the face at any opportunity that I get.” Another ominous email, sent a few days later, stated, “I am going to slam a bullet in Baron Trump’s head with his father IN SELF DEFENSE!”
The Secret Service took immediate action, interviewing Fiorenza on June 14. CBS News reported that during this meeting, she confessed to dispatching these disturbing messages.
Moreover, the U.K. Daily Mail discovered that Fiorenza’s social media platforms were riddled with anti-Trump content.
One of her shared memes portrayed the former president in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed, with the caption: “I have a dream…”
The nature of these threats brings to memory the infamous 2018 comment by actor Peter Fonda suggesting Barron Trump be separated from his mother and placed “IN A CAGE WITH PEDOPHILES.”
While many brushed off such statements as celebrity hyperbole, this recent incident with Fiorenza illustrates the genuine danger posed by such rhetoric.
Fiorenza’s mental state is currently under scrutiny.
During a recent court appearance, she reportedly defied her attorney’s advice and claimed to have contacted Barron’s school for years about a “mandated reporting protocol.”
Further statements about former President Trump leading a pedophile ring and allegations of the government using ‘remote sexual stimulation’ on her former students further raised eyebrows about her psychological wellbeing.
It is vital to note the influence high-profile figures can have on impressionable individuals.
Despite being often blamed for the Capitol incursion merely because he encouraged peaceful protests, Trump himself was a target of overt violent wishes from celebrities.
Yet, while threats against Trump and his family persist, their implications are treated differently than those against other political figures, as demonstrated by Fiorenza’s nonviolent arrest, contrasting with the FBI’s aggressive pre-dawn raid on a man accused of threatening President Joe Biden.
Such disparities in response and the continuing threats underline the growing tension in the nation, hinting at potential escalations as we approach the 2024 elections.