FBI agents surrounded a home in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles Thursday morning and ordered the man inside to come out. Benjamin Azariah Southworth, a 40-year-old podcaster, writer and former television presenter, surrendered without incident. Federal prosecutors say he now faces charges that he threatened to kill President Trump and cyberstalked the family of Trump's former personal attorney.
According to court filings reported by TheNigeriaLawyer, Southworth allegedly posted a video on April 7 declaring, “I have been publicly advocating for the execution of Donald Trump,” and urging that the president be killed. The filings also reportedly cite a January private message in which he allegedly wrote that he would not waste an opportunity to kill Trump. Investigators reviewed social media posts spanning January through May as part of the case.
A federal grand jury indicted Southworth on charges including threatening to kill President Trump, cyberstalking and making harassing interstate calls, according to the Los Angeles Times. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Southworth was indicted on federal charges and arrested at his home, and stressed that threats against the president are federal crimes. Essayli added that his office will prosecute anyone who crosses the line into political violence to the fullest extent of the law.
A Manipulated Photo And A Knife
Federal prosecutors also allege that Southworth posted a manipulated image online showing himself standing behind President Trump in the Oval Office while holding a knife close to the president's head, as reported by The Whistler. Southworth has reportedly described his online posts as “just rhetoric,” but prosecutors argue his statements were deliberate true threats rather than protected political hyperbole. That distinction matters under the federal statute at the center of the case, 18 U.S.C. § 871, which makes it a felony to knowingly and willfully threaten the life of the president, punishable by up to five years in prison per count, according to the Federal Lawyers Group.
Combined with the cyberstalking and interstate harassment counts, Southworth faces a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in federal prison if convicted on all charges, per the same outlet's reporting. The indictment further alleges that Southworth targeted the family of the president's personal attorney by publishing their home address and relatives' phone numbers online, and that he made at least 13 harassing interstate calls to family members. Among those calls, prosecutors say, were voicemails in which Southworth threatened that “justice comes to your door.”
From Christian TV Host To LGBTQ Podcaster
Southworth's public life took a sharp turn nearly two decades before his arrest. He once hosted “The Remix,” a syndicated youth reality and music television show featuring Christian artists, until he came out as gay on April 16, 2008 — an announcement he acknowledged at the time would end his career in Christian television, according to background compiled on Wikipedia. He went on to advocate for LGBTQ rights and later co-created “Yass, Jesus!,” an interfaith and sexuality-affirming comedy podcast he co-hosts with actor-comedian Daniel Franzese. Launched in 2020, the show earned a GLAAD Media Award nomination, according to GLAAD.
Part Of A Broader Federal Crackdown
Southworth's case is not an isolated one. It fits into a wider pattern of federal indictments this year charging individuals in Florida, Oklahoma and Michigan under statutes criminalizing online threats against President Trump, including a similar Oklahoma prosecution Hoodline reported in June. Essayli, who leads federal prosecutions across California's Central District covering seven Southern California counties, has overseen the office bringing several such cases this year. Southworth's arrest now adds Los Angeles to that growing list of federal threat prosecutions tied to the president.
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