Federal prosecutors have charged a Kansas man with threatening to kill President Donald Trump, saying he wrote online that he had “mapped out roofs” near the site of Trump’s Monday visit to the Wichita area.
Jaden J. Read, 24, of Clearwater, Kansas, was charged by criminal complaint on Saturday, Oct. 17, with making threats against the president, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas said in a news release. Fox News first reported the charge to a national audience.
Trump held a campaign rally in the Wichita area Monday for Sen. Roger Marshall. Read was already in custody before the visit.
What prosecutors say he posted
The case began Thursday, Oct. 15, when a Crime Stoppers tip pointed investigators to Facebook comments under local TV news stories about Trump’s upcoming trip, according to the release.
- First story: Under a KAKE News post, prosecutors say Read wrote, “Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter?” He followed with a second comment saying he had just gotten ammunition and was going to kill the president, the release says.
- Second story: Under a KWCH 12 News post, prosecutors say he wrote, “Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself.”
- The rooftop claim: About a minute later, prosecutors say, he wrote, “IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around.”
Arrest and next steps
Authorities arrested Read in Clearwater on Oct. 17. He will stay in federal custody until a detention hearing, prosecutors said. A criminal complaint is a formal accusation, and Read is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
“Political violence and threats of political violence will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said. “The first Amendment allows for robust disagreement but there are constraints. I caution people to stay within the bounds of constitutionally protected speech.”
- Investigators: The U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Wichita Police Department worked the case.
- The law: Threatening the president is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 871, which carries up to five years in prison.
Clearwater is a small town about 20 miles southwest of Wichita in Sedgwick County.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas; Fox News.
