Main: President Donald Trump delivers the Memorial Day Address at the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va., as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, look on (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson). Inset: Michael Ray Sigmon (West Virginia Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A 66-year-old man from West Virginia has been arrested over accusations that he threatened to kill Donald Trump, promising to "execute" the president on White House grounds if he attempted to remain in office after his second term.
Michael Ray Sigmon was taken into custody this week and charged with one count of making threats of terrorist acts and one count of producing a harassing computer communication, records show.
Troopers with the West Virginia State Police on Oct. 12 received a complaint regarding numerous violent threats against government officials, Huntington NBC affiliate WSAZ reported, citing a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Investigators said the threats were made by Sigmon in a series of posts to social media, several of which were graphic in nature.
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According to a report from Charleston ABC affiliate WCHS, the complaint was filed by the chair of the West Virginia Mountain Party. The chairperson said that Sigmon in April had filled out a volunteer form for the party in which he threatened to kill police officers and "behead" President Trump.
Sigmon is currently registered as a Mountain Party candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates in the 52nd District, records from the Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Reporting System show. His committee name is titled "Hell Bent for the House."
The complaint reportedly alleges that Sigmon also posted a message to the Mountain Party's official Instagram account in which he threatened to assassinate the president.
"Donald J Trump whom if elected leader in '28, I will execute on day 1 on the South lawn," the message allegedly said.
In addition to the alleged threats on Trump's life, Sigmon is also accused of threatening to kill West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey "over an undetermined amount of currency" as well as billionaire and former advisor to Trump, Elon Musk.
Appearing in court for his arraignment on Wednesday, Sigmon told the judge that he was actually a victim, claiming that a police officer had recently attempted to kill him in his own home, footage posted by WCHS showed.
Sigmon was processed and booked into a state jail. He was initially being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond, but was let go on Tuesday after a judge granted his release on a personal recognizance bond.
Sigmon is currently scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 28, records show.
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