A 33-year-old Grand Blanc man is facing federal charges after allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump with a gun and bomb his family, a criminal complaint unsealed Monday reveals. James Michael Dewaelsche posted the threats on X, according to the complaint, and told investigators he keeps doing it because he wants to be heard.
The threats, dated to September 7, included vows to kill the president and successors to the presidency, as well as threats to bomb government buildings, according to ClickOnDetroit. Investigators say Dewaelsche also replied to a post from Vice President JD Vance and, per investigators, posted a sexually explicit comment about Vance's children using an account under the name Child R*****t and the handle @childr*****r6969.
Federal agents say Dewaelsche admitted to making the threats when confronted on September 8 in Grand Blanc, telling investigators he knew the posts violated the law but continued because he wanted to be heard. That date and location align with when the station reports the admission occurred.
How Secret Service Agents Tracked Him Down
The U.S. Secret Service's Saginaw Resident Office led the investigation, obtaining subscriber information from X and IP address records tied to an associated email account. Those digital trails led agents to Belsay Road in Grand Blanc, where Secret Service records identified Dewaelsche as the account holder.
Dewaelsche was reportedly already known to the Secret Service before the September threats surfaced. The station's report notes he had prior threat-related interactions involving both Trump and former President Joe Biden in 2018 and again in 2024. Separately, a 2018 Freedom of Information Act log from the National Archives shows a records request submitted regarding someone named James Michael DeWaelsche III concerning allegations of federal government involvement and mind control dating back to June 1993.
Court Appearance and What Comes Next
Dewaelsche appeared in federal court Monday, where a judge set his unsecured bond at $10,000. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3142 of the Bail Reform Act, an unsecured appearance bond allows a defendant to be released without paying cash upfront, so long as they agree to comply with release conditions and show up for all required hearings, per Medium's explanation of federal pretrial procedure.
He is due back in federal court for a preliminary hearing on October 26 at 1 p.m. Grand Blanc falls under the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan has a branch office in Flint, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Federal Charges He Faces
Threats against a sitting president are prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which makes it a federal crime to knowingly and willfully threaten to kill or inflict bodily harm on the president, carrying a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison and a fine, according to the Hedding Law Firm. A separate statute, 18 U.S.C. § 879, specifically covers threats against former presidents, vice presidents, major presidential candidates, and their immediate family members, also carrying a maximum of five years in federal prison per count.
What Comes Next
It is not yet known whether prosecutors in the Dewaelsche case will pursue additional charges or seek a mental health evaluation as a condition of his pretrial release ahead of the October 26 hearing.
