Left: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, in June 2024 (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP). Right: Trent Schneider (Lake County Sheriff's Office).
An Illinois man threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump at least 18 times in social media posts and videos, including a "selfie" clip in which he said, "I can get a lot of f—ing guns and I am going to take care of business," according to federal prosecutors.
"@realDonaldTrump SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!!" Trent Schneider, 57, wrote in the caption of an Instagram video, which showed him speaking "directly to the camera" about killing Trump and public officials, a federal complaint says.
"I'm tired of all you f—ing frauds," Schneider said in the Oct. 16 post, according to the Justice Department. "People need to f—ing die and people are going to die. F— all of you, especially you Trump."
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In another "selfie" video posted that same day, Schneider allegedly told his followers, "People like me have suffered real f—ing crimes from f—ng judges, doctors, lawyers, police. They all should be killed. All of them should be executed for what they've done. They need to be killed. They need to be executed, ok? …. I think it's time. I've waited long enough."
The video included a caption stating, "THIS IS NOT A THREAT!!!"
Schneider posted the clip seven times in one day, which "included a tagged geolocation of the Trump Tower in Chicago," the complaint alleges, accusing Schneider of calling the president a "fraud."
Prosecutors say a "concerned citizen" in Florida viewed the video and reported it to law enforcement. Authorities interviewed Schneider on Oct. 22. The complaint describes how Schneider allegedly became "irate and started yelling" at investigators.
"Approximately one hour after I left the subject residence, [Schneider] posted a video of myself and the two other law enforcement officers who attempted to interview Schneider walking down his driveway," the complaint says. "The post contained the same threatening caption as the previously described video."
Schneider was arrested at his home in Winthrop Harbor and booked on one count of "making a true threat to injure another person in interstate commerce." He appeared in court and allegedly told the judge overseeing his case that he would "burn this castle down," according to prosecutors.
"When asked by the judge if it was a threat, Schneider said it was not," the complaint says. Schneider appeared in court Monday as well and asked the court if he could be put up in the "Trump motel" with popcorn, according to local CBS affiliate WBBM.
This isn't Schneider's first run-in with the law: Schneider has a long criminal history and allegedly posted "multiple violent messages" about public officials on various social media accounts in 2022.
"According to law enforcement reports, in December 2022, law enforcement officers arrested Schneider based on a report that Schneider made threats to 'shoot up' a T-Mobile store," the complaint says.
In that case, Schneider was found to be unfit to stand trial.
Prosecutors say he used an Instagram account under the username "truthreaper888" to post. When he was interviewed in 2022, authorities said he was wearing a black baseball hat with a white "Punisher"-style skull.
"Schneider is wearing the same hat in all the aforementioned videos," the complaint alleges.
Schneider has been ordered to remain in federal custody until his next court hearing on Thursday afternoon.