Feds charge California man with threatening to kill Trump on Facebook

Federal prosecutors charged a Southern California man with allegedly threatening to kill President Trump on Facebook after last year's election.

The man — identified as 73-year-old Thomas Eugene Streavel of San Bernardino County — was indicted last week on three counts of making threats against a president-elect, the Justice Department said in a news release Tuesday.

An indictment unsealed Tuesday lists out a series of angry Facebook messages that Streavel allegedly penned about Mr. Trump both before and after the election — some of which expressed a desire for him to be assassinated.

The charges focus on three messages allegedly written in November, the Justice Department said.

Streavel was arrested Monday, and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday. He was ordered released on $10,000 bond, the Justice Department said in its statement.

The Secret Service is investigating the issue. Attorneys for Streavel were not listed in a federal court database.

"This defendant is charged with threatening the life of our President – a man who has already survived two deranged attempts on his life," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

Mr. Trump faced two attempted assassinations during last year's election. A shooter struck Mr. Trump in the ear at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July, and a man was charged with trying to assassinate the then-presidential candidate at his Florida golf club in September.

If convicted, the maximum sentence for making threats against the president or president-elect is five years — though sentencing decisions are made by judges, and it is not unusual for federal criminal defendants to receive less than the maximum.

In recent years, the Justice Department has regularly brought charges for threats against Mr. Trump, former President Joe Biden and other high-profile officials. Threats against officials — from members of Congress to judges and prosecutors — are also on the rise, authorities say.

On Monday, a Romanian man pleaded guilty to leading a ring that targeted dozens of members of Congress and a former president with bomb threats and "swatting" calls — in which a person makes a false police report with the goal of drawing a massive police response.

• San Bernardino
• Donald Trump
• Trump Administration