A New York man is accused of flooding social media with violent threats against President Donald Trump and his family, including pledges to "hunt," "rape" and "murder" them, federal prosecutors say.
Background
Joshua Alexander, 43, of Oswego, New York, drew the attention of federal authorities after allegedly posting dozens of threatening messages on X, formerly Twitter. The posts, some of which remained visible on his account as of Tuesday, June 23, included explicit threats against the president and his family members.
According to a federal complaint filed in the Northern District of New York, Alexander sent over 100 emails to the White House and posted multiple threatening messages on social media. The threats escalated over time, with Alexander allegedly promising to travel to Florida where Trump maintains residences to carry out violence against him.
"I'm going to come to Florida … and I'm going to rape you and I'm going to murder you," Alexander allegedly wrote in one message.
The Investigation
Alexander was arrested on June 6 near his residence in Oswego following an interview with U.S. Secret Service agents. Federal prosecutors say that during the interview, Alexander "immediately admitted" to telling Trump he would murder him and continued making threats as agents questioned him about his social media posts.
"As [agents] started to read a post from X.com handle @JoshuaJAle40233, Alexander interrupted and stated that he was going to 'f—ing kill' the president," according to the complaint. "What I had read from X was exactly what Alexander had posted."
Upon his arrest, Alexander allegedly told officers he "wanted to murder Donald Trump because the president and his family needed to be murdered." The Oswego Police Department determined that Alexander's threats "did cause a reasonable expectation of fear for the president's life" and warranted a United States Secret Service response to prevent "the imminent commission of such offense," according to city court documents cited by The Palladium Times.
Among the most graphic threats allegedly posted on his account: "Lol I'm going to cut off the president's head. I'm eating it for breakfast." Other posts included statements such as "I will kill you and hunt you down President Trump" and "I'm going to kill the president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump."
Key Takeaways
- Joshua Alexander, 43, of Oswego, New York, has been charged with making a terroristic threat in federal court
- Federal prosecutors allege he posted over 100 threatening messages to the White House and dozens more on social media
- The threats included pledges to "hunt," "rape" and "murder" Trump and his family members
- Alexander admitted to Secret Service agents that he intended to kill the president during a recorded interview
- Senior Assistant Public Defender David Smallwood is representing Alexander and plans to file a motion to dismiss
What's Next
Alexander remains in custody as he awaits further court proceedings. His defense attorney has argued that posting statements online does not meet the statutory threshold for making a terroristic threat, comparing it to "shouting it on a street corner." A motion to dismiss is expected to be filed in the coming weeks.