Former Coast Guard officer charged with threatening to kill President Trump

CBS News

5 hours ago

Examining the rise of political violence in the U.S. after Minnesota lawmaker's killing
A former Coast Guard lieutenant and sharpshooter has been arrested for allegedly making threats to kill President Trump.
A 19-page Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit lists out scores of alleged social media threats by Peter Stinson, who served 33 years in the U.S. Coast Guard through 2021, and also served as a Federal Emergency Management Agency instructor.
The social media posts quoted in charging documents, which span from 2020 to 2025, include online statements that suggested using a gun, a knife and poison against Mr. Trump. In several cases, Stinson allegedly said he didn't have the skills to kill Mr. Trump himself, but said he's willing to "serve in a support capacity" or raise money for a "contract hit."
Federal investigators also allege within 48 hours of the 2024 attempted assassination of Mr. Trump in Butler, Pa., Stinson posted: "Just three inches and today would be a different day," followed by criticisms of the shooter's skills.
Prosecutors allege Stinson made a series of menacing social media posts last week, including on Wednesday writing, "When he dies, the party is going to be yuge."
Stinson was charged with making threats against the president. On Monday afternoon, a federal judge ordered Stinson to be detained pending further hearings in his case in Virginia.
Investigators said Stimson "has self-identified as a member of ANTIFA," a loosely affiliated political movement short for "anti-fascist."
Stinson's defense attorney declined CBS News' request for comment.
Federal prosecutors have routinely brought charges in recent years over threats against Mr. Trump, former President Joe Biden and other government officials. People charged with threatening a president can face up to five years in prison if convicted — though judges often sentence criminal defendants to less than the maximum sentence.
Mr. Trump faced two assassination attempts last year.
Threats against politicians and public officials have grown more common in recent years, authorities say, ranging from members of Congress to judges and prosecutors.
Earlier this month, a Romanian man pleaded guilty to leading a ring that targeted dozens of members of Congress and a former president with bomb threats and "swatting" calls — in which a person makes a false 911 call with the goal of drawing a massive police response.
And CBS News has previously reported that federal judges have been targeted by "pizza doxxings," an unnerving trend in which an unknown person orders an unwanted pizza to somebody's home address — possibly to send a message that they know the victim's address.