A Syracuse man is facing a federal charge after authorities said he asked a co-worker to help him get a gun so he could shoot President Donald Trump at Trump's political rally in the city. Christopher Vignogna pleaded not guilty, telling investigators he was only joking and never expected anyone to take him seriously.
Vignogna, whose age has been reported as both 26 and 27 in different accounts, was charged Friday with a single count of making threats against the president, according to syracuse.com. Authorities said he asked a co-worker if she could help him get a gun so he could shoot the president at Trump's rally in Syracuse, which was held ahead of the 2026 midterm election. A separate co-worker interview included the remark that he wanted to shoot everything up. The complaint, cited by KABB, alleges he made a gun-hand gesture and said he wanted to shoot Trump when Trump came to town.
How the Alleged Threat Reached Federal Investigators
The co-worker reported the comment to her company's human resources department and later spoke with a detective from the Rome Police Department, the station's report states. The Rome Police Department then notified the U.S. Secret Service, and the case was eventually transferred to the Secret Service and FBI. Secret Service agents and Onondaga County Sheriff's Office deputies went on to interview Vignogna at his home.
During that interview, Vignogna confirmed he had made the comments but said he was just joking and didn't think anyone would take him seriously, per the same account. He appeared in federal court in Syracuse the same day he was charged, pleaded not guilty, and was released.
Firearms Ban and What Comes Next in Court
Separately, a New York state Supreme Court justice has already acted to keep guns out of Vignogna's hands. Justice Danielle Fogel approved a temporary extreme risk protection order that bars Vignogna from purchasing or possessing a firearm, with a hearing on that order scheduled for Wednesday, the article notes.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick described the comment as an extremely poor joke and said he did not expect Vignogna to face charges, even as federal prosecutors moved forward with the case. The federal charge Vignogna faces carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release if he is convicted.
What the Law Says About Jokes and Threats
Federal guidance on threats against the president, found in the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal resource manual, identifies 18 U.S.C. § 871 as the statute covering such cases. That guidance notes that words uttered in a context a reasonable person would interpret as political hyperbole, idle talk or a jest may not constitute a threat under the law.
Part of a Broader Pattern Nationally
The Syracuse case lands amid a wave of reported threats against public officials nationwide. The New York Times reported that thousands of violent threats inundated the lives of elected officials over a roughly two-year period running from 2024 through August, according to the New York Times. At least 44 governors, at least 70 senators and at least 185 House members were among those targeted, the paper found, with threats aimed at Republicans and Democrats alike and more than half of the nation's secretaries of state reporting violent threats.
In a separate case elsewhere, the Justice Department announced the arrest of a Hatfield, Arkansas, man accused of threatening two Massachusetts members of Congress, underscoring that such cases have surfaced well beyond Syracuse.
