A 27-year-old Crescent City man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he used the White House website to post messages threatening to kill President Donald Trump and to "blow the White House up." According to the Department of Justice, the first message was sent April 16, followed by another on May 25 in which the sender allegedly vowed to kill the president "in cold blood." Federal authorities have filed two criminal counts tied to those communications, leaving the accused facing potential federal prison time if convicted.
Federal charges and alleged messages
As reported by News4JAX, the Department of Justice says Ryan Brown, 27, used the White House online contact form on April 16 to send a message threatening to "blow the White House up" within a week. A second message on May 25 allegedly included language about killing the president "in cold blood." Prosecutors have charged Brown with two federal counts tied to those communications. Each count falls under 18 U.S.C. § 871, a statute that carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison per violation.
What the law says
Section 871 makes it a federal crime to threaten the life of the president, but not every angry or overheated comment qualifies. Courts and prosecutors must decide whether a statement is a "true threat" or protected political speech. The Justice Department's criminal resource manual notes that investigators look at context, intent and the immediacy of any alleged threat when deciding whether to bring charges. That standard traces back to the Supreme Court's decision in Watts v. United States, which drew a line between crude political hyperbole and prosecutable threats.
Investigations and next steps
Threats aimed at the president are typically handled as protective-intelligence cases by the U.S. Secret Service, which, according to the agency's public materials, "also investigates people who make threats against the president." The next procedural moves are usually spelled out in local federal court filings or a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The News4JAX report did not indicate whether Brown was in custody or when he is expected to make his first federal court appearance.
Charging documents and entries on the federal court docket will eventually shed more light on the evidence prosecutors plan to rely on. Until those filings are publicly available, details will largely be limited to what prosecutors include in official statements and what they share with local media. We will monitor the federal docket and update this report once charging papers or a U.S. Attorney's Office statement is posted.
