An 18-year-old from Massachusetts is charged with threatening to kill President Trump after agents say he sent a photo of a rifle with the words “im gonna kill trump.”
Story Highlights
- Federal prosecutors charged Trenton Touch of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, with making a threat against the president.
- Agents say he ran four Instagram accounts that called mass shooters “heroes” and talked of shooting up a school.
- A search of his home turned up a revolver, military-style knives, a hatchet and a ballistic helmet, officials said.
- He is accused, not convicted, and is due in federal court in Boston on Monday, November 9.
- Agents also found a rifle at his grandparents’ home that investigators say is the same one in the photo, according to reports.
- The FBI’s top agent in Boston said, “There’s no question Mr. Touch posed a grave threat to public safety.”
The Message Behind the Charge
Federal prosecutors in Boston announced the charge on Thursday, November 5. They say that on June 21, Trenton Touch sent a private Instagram message with a picture of a person holding a scoped rifle. Three lines came with it: “it’s time,” “im gonna kill trump,” and “not yet unc I suck at shooting past 200 yards.” The charge is for that message. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said his alleged threats “could not be ignored” and that threatening the president is not protected free speech.
The case was filed as a criminal complaint, which is the first paper that starts a federal case and lays out why agents believe a crime took place. The charge carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Every detail in it is still an allegation. No statement from Touch or a lawyer for him has been reported.
Four Accounts and a Pattern of Violent Posts
Investigators say the case began on September 10, when law enforcement got a tip about four Instagram accounts posting violent threats, including one against the president. Agents say Touch used all four. Prosecutors say the accounts also threatened to “shoot up a school” and kill other people.
According to the complaint, Touch often praised mass shooters who killed people because of their race, and called them “heroes.” He often pointed to the 2019 Christchurch attacks, when a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand. The FBI’s top agent in Boston, Ted Docks, called Touch “an alleged white supremacist” and said, “There’s no question Mr. Touch posed a grave threat to public safety.”
What Agents Found at His Home
Police searched his Tewksbury home on Monday, October 26. Officials say they seized a revolver-style handgun, camouflage clothing, a ballistic helmet, military-style knives and a hatchet. Docks said that gear showed Touch “allegedly had the means to do it.” Agents also searched his grandparents’ home in Atkinson, New Hampshire, and found a rifle and ammunition in a room he uses, according to reports. Investigators say it is the same rifle seen in the June 21 photo.
Touch already faced state charges from that search. Police say he had the handgun and ammunition without a Firearms Identification Card, the state permit Massachusetts requires to own a gun, and that the gun was not stored safely. He is being held on $50,000 bail in the state case. If he posts it, a judge ordered home confinement with a GPS monitor. Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus said the work of detectives and the FBI “may have prevented a mass casualty incident.”
Where Free Speech Ends
The First Amendment protects heated political talk, even ugly talk. It does not protect what courts call a “true threat,” meaning a serious statement that the speaker means to hurt a certain person. In 2023 the Supreme Court said prosecutors must also show the speaker was aware his words could be taken as a threat.
That is the test a court will apply here. Prosecutors point to the rifle photo, the posts and the gear in his home. Touch is set to appear in federal court and at a bail hearing in state court on Monday, November 9.
Sources:
justice.gov, fox11online.com, bostonglobe.com, patch.com, nbcboston.com, boston25news.com, wcvb.com
