Federal Charges for Online Threats Against President and Law Enforcement
Recently, a suburban Chicago man, Trent Schneiger of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, was charged in the Northern District of Illinois with making a threat against President Trump after he uploaded a video on 18 occasions between October 16, 2025, and October 21, 2025 in which he says in part, “I’m going to get some guns. I know where I can get a lot of [expletive] guns and I am going to take care of business myself. I’m tired of all you [expletive] frauds. People need to [expletive] die and people are going to die. [Expletive] all of you, especially you Trump. You should be executed” according to the criminal complaint in his matter. While this is an isolated incident from a man who has a criminal history of making online threats, even being arrested for threatening to “shoot up” a T-Mobile store in 2022, such behavior seems to be a part of an increase in threats to federal officials and law enforcement. Federal prosecutors across the country have announced charges against people for their online postings and messages against federal law enforcement officers, particularly for posts targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) officers and their families as the Trump administration has focused on immigration related enforcement in his second term. Many posts are alleged to be attempts to “dox” ICE agents, informing viewers of the home address of agents, such as one California case where three women were indicted after livestreaming themselves following an ICE agent to his home and putting his address on Instagram. In announcing charges against another individual in California for doxxing agents, ICE OPR Special Agent Jimmy Valenzuela said that, “Doxxing is not just an invasion of privacy; it is a deliberate act of intimidation that undermines the safety and security of ICE employees who are dedicated to upholding the law and protecting our nation. Arresting individuals responsible for doxxing sends a clear message that such malicious behavior will not be tolerated and ensures accountability for actions that threaten the safety of our workforce.” Another Chicago area man was arrested outside a suburban ICE facility, accused of making threats and carrying a loaded firearm, with DHS releasing screenshots that purportedly show multiple social media posts they allege contain threats calling for the murder of ICE officers. These charges are just a few of the larger examples of how online behavior and social media posts can lead to an individual being arrested and charged based on its content, which has the potential to occur more often in an increasingly online world.
Sheriff Drops Charges for “Online Threat” After Man Posts Meme on Facebook
There is tension about what constitutes a criminal online threat and what is protected free speech, as the case of Tennessee man Larry Bushart exemplifies. After the death of Charlie Kirk, Bushart, a retired police officer, posted an online meme on his local Perry County Facebook page which depicts a picture of President Trump with the quote “We have to get over it” which is in reference to a quote from President Trump in response to a school shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa from January 2024. Sheriff Nick Weems alleged that the post was meant to “cause and intentionally sought to create hysteria within the community” due to the counties having the same name, despite being in different states, and make students/parents fear he was threatening the local school. Accordingly, Bushart was arrested on September 21st on felony charges of Threats of Mass Violence on School Property and Activities after refusing to take the post down and held on a $2 million bond. His attorney filed a motion to reduce bond shortly after the bond amount was set, but the case was reset for December 4th despite requesting an earlier date, meaning that Bushart would be held for that period of time unless he could post the bond originally set. Bushart spent over a month in jail until prosecutors recently dropped his case after it received increased media scrutiny and Sheriff Weems appeared on local news for an interview defending the charges. Even as Bushart was being arrested he admitted “I may have been an a**hole” but he didn’t think he had committed a crime in posting the meme (which prosecutors seemingly acquiesced to by dropping the charges). The line between what is protected free speech and what can constitute a criminal threat, either online or in person, varies significantly based on the setting, exact words used, if there is the presence of a weapon at the time of the threat, and many other potential factors. Anyone who is accused or charged with making a criminal threat against another should consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney who can ensure that their First Amendment rights are protected and they are not subject to any overzealous prosecution.
