Main: President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Inset, top to bottom: Trenton Touch (Tewksbury Police Department) and a photo of a firearm allegedly posted to Instagram by Touch (DOJ).
An 18-year-old man in Massachusetts is accused of threatening to assassinate the president, writing "im gonna kill trump" in a social media post that federal investigators say was one of many violent statements he made.
Trenton Touch was taken into custody Oct. 26 and charged with one felony count of making a threat to kill the president, court records show.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Massachusetts federal court, Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, contacted authorities about four accounts that appeared to have made threats of violence. All four of the accounts were allegedly linked to Touch, who regularly alternated between the accounts in several different chat groups, authorities said.
Touch's accounts allegedly made "multiple communications in which he threatened to kill other individuals," including "threats to shoot up a school," according to the complaint.
For example, on June 21, one of the accounts allegedly sent a photograph of a rifle to another Instagram user along with messages that said "it's time," "im gonna kill trump," and "not yet unc i suck at shooting past 200 yards."
On July 2, he allegedly sent a direct message on Instagram stating, "we need to kill politicians."
Investigators said Touch frequently referenced mass shooters in his online communications, often referring to them as "heroes," and specifically highlighted those whose attacks were driven by racially motivated violent extremism.
Authorities said Touch was relatively tech-savvy and took steps to prevent violent videos from being flagged by social media platforms.
"Touch created videos and 'shooter edits,' that intentionally had video overlays in an effort to hide the content from social media algorithms used to detect and remove the graphic content," the complaint states. "Touch often shared these videos and directed people where to find the actual shooting videos without the overlay."
The defendant also frequently referenced the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand that left 51 people dead, allegedly writing in August that there "should be a Christchurch happening every single day of every single week."
Touch allegedly had an exchange with an Instagram user in which he wrote: "if every single governor died to assassination tomorrow, a 4th reich could be founded by next week," and "literally anything could happen, people just need to die."
Authorities also said that Touch was actively trying to purchase a firearm and was pursuing firearms training.
While executing a search warrant on Touch's home, authorities said they recovered a revolver-style handgun, camouflage clothing, a ballistics helmet, military-style knives and a hatchet.
Items allegedly recovered from Touch's home (DOJ)
Following his arrest, the FBI said Touch not only threatened to kill the president, he also "allegedly had the means to do it."
"There's no question Mr. Touch posed a grave threat to public safety," Ted Docks, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said in a statement.
Touch is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 9, records show. If convicted on the threat charge, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.