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)
A South Carolina man is accused of threatening to "take the life" of President Donald Trump, writing on X that he wanted to silence Trump forever by putting him six feet under, according to federal prosecutors.
"@realDonaldTrump you have the right to remain silent," wrote John Alexander Bellue in a September 2025 X post, according to his indictment. "I'm gonna kill you in the most brutal way possible," Bellue allegedly said.
A grand jury indicted Bellue last week on one count of threatening the president and one count of using interstate communications to send his threat, according to federal court records. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina is handling his case.
"On or about September 7, 2025, in the District of South Carolina, the defendant … did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States," prosecutors said in Bellue's indictment.
A "reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances" would interpret Bellue's X post as a "serious expression of an intent to do harm" to the president, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Bellue, who is from Rock Hill, allegedly posted his assassination threat on Sept. 7, 2025, while Trump was at the U.S. Open men's tennis tournament in New York City. He was indicted on May 19.
Bellue has no known criminal history, with prison and court records showing no prior convictions.
His indictment came just days before U.S. Secret Service officers killed a gunman who opened fire on a White House security checkpoint.
According to reports, 21-year-old Maryland resident Nasire Best started shooting at a checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue while Trump was inside the White House. It is the third shooting to happen near the president in recent weeks, with two other men also opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in April and near the Washington Monument earlier this month.
In response to the latest incident, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House, who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country's most cherished structure."
Bellue's next court date has not been scheduled.
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