Background: President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Evan Vucci). Inset: Tyler Leveque posts a statement to TikTok on Jan. 2, 2025 (TikTok).
A New Mexico man who threatened Donald Trump days before his second presidential inauguration will spend less than a year behind bars.
Tyler Leveque, 38, was sentenced to around 10 months in prison "for using social media to issue violent threats against the President," the Justice Department announced Wednesday. Court records show that U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs, a Trump appointee, sentenced Leveque to "324 days or time served whichever is less." He was also ordered to be under supervised release for three years following his release.
In January, Leveque made multiple social media posts signaling his intention to come after the president and other high-profile and high-ranking individuals.
"First, in a TikTok video posted on January 2, 2025, Leveque made statements indicating his disdain for several people and groups of people," the DOJ said. "Leveque stated these people should be 'f—ing scared,'" the statement added.
"I don't care if I die," Leveque says on the TikTok video. "That's what you should be scared about. I'm scared to be alive, actually."
"So, run, run," he added at the end of the post.
Leveque also took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Jan. 3, to issue his threats.
"[Donald Trump] I got my eyes on you sir!" he wrote. "Cant wait for your Victory rally! The 19th right!? Lol you and your rich friends are dead no threat a promise."
Leveque addressed Trump directly, the DOJ said.
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"In response to a January 2, 2025, post from President-Elect Trump, Leveque wrote 'Die,'" prosecutors noted in the DOJ statement.
Additional threats posted to Facebook on Jan. 4 included:
- "Just bought my first gun b—es!"
- "Hey world hey America hey trump hey ceos get rich we are hunting you down! Hahaha I'm getting ready myself! Here we come it ends now"
- "The 19th we march the sts to our state offices and demand change they are threatening shutting down the power grid on us! F— them! If ur there see ya! If not! U disappoint me and wish u the best I more than likely will die or be thrown in jail but unlike u all I am fighting for what's right!"
Leveque also targeted Elon Musk, writing on X on Jan. 3 that "its too late for yall shouldve shut down tik tok a long time ago see u on the 19thfor war!"
Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time on Jan. 20, 2025.
Leveque pleaded guilty in September to one count of making threats against the president. An additional two counts of making interstate communications containing threats were dropped.
"Between on or January 2, 2025, and January 4, 2025, in Bernalillo County, in the District of New Mexico, I, Tyler Miles Leveque, knowingly posted recordings and messages on social media threatening to kill then President-elect, Donald Trump," his plea agreement said. "I understood the words I wrote, said, and uttered to be true threats, as that term is interpreted under federal law. I wrote, said, and uttered these words knowingly and willfully."
Leveque faced a potential maximum of five years in prison. The DOJ's announcement noted that "there is no parole in the federal system."