Inset: President Donald Trump speaks outside the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon). Background: President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is seen on Sept. 14, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.)
A Florida man is headed to prison after threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Diego Martin Villavicencio, 36, of Tallahassee, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for two counts of sending interstate threats — including a count of threats against the president — after vowing to drive to Palm Beach to put the commander-in-chief in his crosshairs.
"I'm going to shoot … Donald Trump," Villavicencio wrote in a 2025 social media post.
Villavicencio was sentenced on Friday after he pleaded guilty in April to threatening Trump and "public officials," according to a Justice Department press release.
Villavicencio admitted that he vowed to "take the life of or to inflict bodily harm on the president of the United States and that he understood and meant those words as a true threat," according to court documents. "The defendant knowingly and willfully wrote or said the words," federal prosecutors said in a statement of facts filed with Villavicencio's plea agreement. "He knew the posts would be viewed as a true threat."
Villavicencio was taken into custody in February and charged with threatening Trump and several other public officials, including former President Joe Biden.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Villavicencio used social media and the anonymous internet forum 4chan to publish repeated posts advocating violence against politicians, corporate executives, and the United States government.
One message cited by investigators that referenced Mar-a-Lago said, "I'll be driving there to take a couple shots at trump and some of the other corrupt plutocrats."
Other posts included:
Death to AmericaBomb AmericaBomb the federal reserveKill politiciansKill CEOsShoot Joe BidenShoot Donald TrumpEND CAPITALISMFREE THE PEOPLE.
According to investigators, Villavicencio also said things like "corruption listens to bullets" and "political violence is the only language plutocrats understand. I'll be killing soon."
"Court documents show that the defendant made multiple online threats of violence directed at President Donald J. Trump, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell over the course of several months," a DOJ press release said in April.
Villavicencio was facing up to 25 years in federal prison. His two-year term will be followed by three years of supervised release, with the first year on home detention. Special conditions of his supervision include a mental health evaluation and treatment, and computer monitoring.
"The Secret Service will not tolerate threats, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the Office of the President and all our protectees," said Seth Reister, resident agent in charge of Secret Service Tallahassee, in a statement Friday. "The conviction and sentencing in this case demonstrate the dedication and professionalism of our agents, law enforcement partners, and prosecutorial partners in carrying out that mission."