A Grand Rapids man will be spending the next two years behind bars for threats he made online against the nation’s top officials, including the President and Vice President of the United States. In a federal court ruling, James Donald Vance, Jr., was handed down a prison sentence for posting his intent to kill, an action U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney characterized as "grievous conduct", necessitating strong deterrence against similar threats, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Vance, who went by the pseudonym "Diaperjdv" on the social media platform Bluesky, did not shy from making his violent intentions known in March and April 2025 expressing his indifference to being shot by the Secret Service or facing a lifetime prison sentence for his proposed actions; he pleaded guilty to two felony offenses, each could have led up to five years of imprisonment and fines amounting $250,000, charged with threatening to kill or injure the President and Vice President and with interstate threatening communications.
This case isn't an anomaly for the Western District of Michigan, which, just last month, saw Richard James Spring of Comstock Park receiving an 18-month prison term following his guilty plea for threatening to kill President Trump. The recent incidents illuminate an unsettling trend of violent threats against public officials, punctuating the darker side of the digital era where the veil of anonymity emboldens some to dispense vitriol free from the moorings of civil discourse.
The severity of such offenses was underlined by U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey, who stressed that while the internet serves as a vital forum for democratic debate, its abuse to spread fear and thwart democratic ideals is inexcusable, "When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished," VerHey's statement highlighted through the Justice Department's release.
The U.S. Secret Service, with its Detroit Field Office at the investigative forefront, takes a no-nonsense approach to safeguarding protectees, including the nation's leaders. Special Agent in Charge William Shink doubled down on this position, saying, per the U.S. Attorney's Office, "Threats against our nation’s leaders and their families will not be tolerated." The two cases have put a spotlight on the critical work of the Secret Service's Grand Rapids office, which swiftly addressed both incidents by bringing Vance and Spring to justice.
