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 who 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" — has been convicted by a federal jury.
Trent Schneider, 58, of Winthrop Harbor, was found guilty last week of making a true threat in interstate commerce to injure a person following a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago, according to a Justice Department press release.
"Let this conviction send a clear message that it is never acceptable to threaten a political figure or a member of the judiciary," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros.
Schneider was accused of posting videos on Instagram tagged with geolocations of Trump Tower in Chicago and the president's public accounts, calling him a "fraud" and "coward" multiple times.
"@realDonaldTrump SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!!" Schneider wrote in the caption of one clip, which showed him speaking "directly to the camera" about killing Trump and public officials, according to the federal complaint. "I'm tired of all you f—ing frauds," Schneider said in the Oct. 16 post. "People need to f—ing die and people are going to die. F— all of you, especially you Trump."
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, each time including a tagged geolocation of Trump Tower. Prosecutors say a "concerned citizen" in Florida viewed the video and reported it to law enforcement.
Authorities interviewed Schneider about the posts on Oct. 22. The complaint describes how Schneider allegedly became "irate and started yelling" at investigators during the interview.
"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."
Authorities arrested Schneider at his home in Winthrop Harbor. He appeared in court and 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.
During another court appearance, Schneider asked 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: He 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 his threats. When he was interviewed in 2022, authorities said he was wearing a black baseball hat with a white skull in the same style as the "Punisher" comic book character.
"Schneider is wearing the same hat in all the aforementioned videos," the complaint says.
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