Inset: Steven Hutchings (Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office). Background: President Donald Trump pretends to aim a sniper gun while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File).
A Florida man made an online pledge to assassinate the president, publicly declaring that "the only one that's going to kill @Donald J. Trump is me," according to federal prosecutors.
Steven Hutchings, 37, of Escambia County, faces two federal counts of threatening the president over messages he allegedly posted in September 2025, according to court records.
The posts repeatedly named President Trump as a target and included an apparent promise that Hutchings would carry out the proposed assassination himself, according to the U.S. Justice Department, which announced Hutchings' indictment in a press release Friday.
"As the president of antifa, I vow to kill every pedophile including @Donald J. Trump," Hutchings allegedly wrote on Sept. 23, 2025, according to the indictment.
"As the antifa leader, we believe in killing pedophiles," Hutchings allegedly said. "We're coming for you. @Donald J. Trump."
Two days later, prosecutors say Hutchings escalated with a more direct threat, writing: "The only one that's going to kill @Donald J. Trump is me, the only good pedophile is a dead one in my book."
Hutchings "did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the president of the United States," according to the DOJ.
Hutchings made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hope Thai Cannon at the federal courthouse in Pensacola. His jury trial is set for Dec. 14 before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers.
"If convicted, Hutchings faces up to 10 years' imprisonment on each count," the DOJ release says.
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