Main: President Donald Trump smiles as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Inset: Markus E. Hamlett (Escambia County Sheriff's Office).
A 46-year-old man in Florida is accused of threatening to kill the president, allegedly sending a series of emails to news outlets and government officials in which he vowed to "stop at nothing" in his plot to "murder Donald Trump."
Markus Edward Hamlett, who previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, was indicted this week on one count of making a threat upon the president of the United States, authorities announced.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Hamlett sent the series of threatening emails on May 17 and May 18, 2025, from his personal Yahoo account.
On May 17, he allegedly sent threatening messages, which read:
- "I'm Markus Hamlett and I'm publicly threatening Donald Trump. He's VERY dangerous and I'll stop at nothing to stop him."
- "I'm planning on murdering Donald Trump."
- "Markus Hamlett has a plan to murder Donald Trump."
He allegedly sent three more messages the following day:
- "I, Markus Hamlett, was in Washington, DC on dates known to the government and my ex-wife. I went there to plan to murder Trump."
- "I'm putting my intent to murder Trump all over the internet. The world will soon know what a DUMB B— that man is."
- "Here's my receipt from the days I was in Washington, DC preparing Trump's death. I'm going to murder the President of the United States."
On May 19, 2025, Hamlett wrote that Trump "is done," adding, "and I'll be the one to pull the plug."
Deputies with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 30 took Hamlett into custody and placed him on a 72-hour involuntary mental health hold at the Lakeview Center in Pensacola, Florida. The U.S. Secret Service was notified of Hamlett's arrest the same day.
"While at the Lakeview Center, Hamlett made numerous verbal statements to the intake staff at the facility, threatening to take the life of President Trump," the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, when agents responded to the center to interview Hamlett, he said "he had been waiting a long time to speak with us."
"I have been sending emails and making phone calls for a year trying to get arrested," Hamlett allegedly told the agents.
A check of federal databases showed that Hamlett in October 2025 had been arrested in San Jose, California, after he allegedly called 911 and told the emergency dispatcher he "had a great plan to assassinate Donald Trump."
"Hamlett stated he did make the 911 call with the above threat," the affidavit states. "He was arrested during that incident and to his surprise he was released shortly thereafter."
The defendant allegedly sent an additional threat on Dec. 3, 2025, in an email sent to the CIA's public website.
"The murder of Donald Trump!" the email began. "He should know in 5 days I'll publicly f— him up if I don't have my phone back. It'll just be a fun little thing I do to him. He should really kiss my a—, I'll even keep it a secret."
Jury selection for Hamlett's trial is currently scheduled to begin on Monday, April 6, in Pensacola.