Who Is Thomas Streavel? Man Charged With Threatening To Assassinate Trump
A California man has pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump after last year's presidential election.
Thomas Eugene Streavel, 73, of Yucca Valley, was indicted last week on three counts of making threats against Trump, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
He was arrested on Monday and arraigned on Tuesday inside the U.S. District Court in Riverside. He pleaded not guilty to all three counts.
The case is the latest instance of an individual facing legal consequences after being accused of threatening Trump.
The president has faced several attempts on his life since entering politics, including two in the months leading up to November's election. In July 2024, a gunman opened fire as Trump spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear with a bullet. Then in September, a Secret Service agent spotted the muzzle of a rifle sticking out of a fence in bushes at Trump's West Palm Beach golf club while scouting the course ahead of Trump. Trump was not harmed in that incident.
The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday, said Streavel used his Facebook account to post multiple messages expressing his desire to harm or have others harm Trump before November's election.
He also "knowingly and willfully threatened to kill and inflict bodily harm" on Trump in the days after he won the election, according to the DOJ.
"[T]rump is a dead man walking for the time being until a patriot like myself blows his [expletive] brains out in the very near future," Streavel posted on November 6, the indictment says.
On November 12, Streavel posted that he was "willing to make America great again and blow his [expletive] brains out."
A week later, he posted: "Let me put a bullet right between the ears of your president-elect... That's my purpose for living."
And on November 28, he posted: "I'm praying for a successful assassination of your president-elect."
He also posted that "my life's mission is killing the worthless LOSER [expletive] and my mission starts tonight so watch yourself trump [sic], you are a dead [expletive] and I am your assassin."
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement: "This defendant is charged with threatening the life of our President-a man who has already survived two deranged attempts on his life. The Department of Justice takes these threats with the utmost seriousness and will prosecute this crime to the fullest extent of the law."
United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement: "The type of rhetoric and threats made by this defendant are similar to those that led to an attempt on the President's life last year. There is no place for political violence or threats of violence in the United States. We will not hesitate to arrest and charge others who engage in similar criminal conduct."
A judge ordered Streavel to be released on $10,000 bond. A trial date was scheduled for July 28.
If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count.
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