Florida House write-in candidate arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Trump | Donald Trump
A former Marine and Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives in Florida has been arrested and charged in federal court with threatening to kill Donald Trump, according to the US attorney’s office.
William Upham, 35, was taken into custody after appearing in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison. According to public opinion recordsUpham is a candidate running in the Republican primary for Florida’s fifth congressional district.
Lawyer Gregory Kehoe explains the accusation Press releaseUpham, a former Marine and former state prosecutor, appeared in federal court in Jacksonville early Thursday and remains in custody, the court said.
according to complaintThe Secret Service began investigating Upham after receiving reports of alleged potential threats to Trump. During the investigation, agents reviewed two videos Upham shared on his social media accounts.
In the first video, investigators said Upham wore his military uniform while calling for the overthrow of the Trump administration.
“This is a call to arms,” Upham said in the video, according to the complaint. “All children of God, in the name of God you must overthrow the Trump administration. I want to turn to war tactics and give military instructions on how to overthrow President Trump and his forces.”
Upham then recommended the use of a semi-automatic rifle such as an AR-15, stating that the “enemy” should be killed with “two shots to the chest” and “one shot to the head”, which would result in a very high probability of death.
The complaint also details a second video in which Upham, also wearing his military uniform, allegedly makes similar statements, including that Trump is the enemy and “must be killed.”
Religious beliefs appeared to be a major motivating factor, with Upham saying in the video that the Bible “describes the Antichrist as a ruler backed by Satan who demands to be worshiped,” according to the complaint. The complaint stated that Upham said: “All of these descriptions of the antichrist describe President Trump.”
Federal officials said the investigation also uncovered a memo that Upham allegedly sent to a third party in which he stated that he was preparing the videos to “declare war” on Trump and that he would “kill President Trump at God’s choosing time.”
The Secret Service also reportedly learned that Upham had access to firearms and made statements to law enforcement about the matter as recently as this month.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao responded to reports of Upham’s comments on social media to mailHe writes: “Unacceptable. William Upham is no longer a sailor and does not represent our values or morals.”
