A Michigan man is facing a federal charge after authorities say he posted a disturbing series of threats calling for President Donald Trump to be killed with a gun and members of his family to be attacked with bombs.
James Michael Dewaelsche, 33, of Grand Blanc, Michigan, was charged with making threats against the president and successors to the presidency after Secret Service investigators traced an X account allegedly used to make the violent statements.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Michigan, the threats surfaced on Sept. 7.
Investigators said one message was posted in response to a NASA photo showing Trump with members of the Artemis II crew inside the Oval Office.
“Kill Donald Trump with a gun,” the account allegedly wrote.
Authorities said another message appeared beneath a NASA post promoting an aerospace event and called for Trump’s family to be killed “with bombs.”
The same account also allegedly posted a sexually explicit threat involving Vice President JD Vance’s children.
The Secret Service quickly began trying to identify the person behind the account.
According to the complaint, investigators obtained subscriber information from X that revealed an email address connected to the account. Agents then traced internet records associated with that address to a residence in Grand Blanc.
The records allegedly pointed investigators to Dewaelsche.
Secret Service agents interviewed him at his home on Sept. 8, one day after the messages were discovered.
During that interview, investigators say Dewaelsche admitted making the posts.
The complaint also alleges that he acknowledged knowing threats against the president were illegal and that authorities had warned him about similar conduct before.
When agents asked why he continued posting threatening messages, Dewaelsche allegedly said he “wants to be heard.”
Investigators said the September incident was not his first encounter with the Secret Service.
Federal records cited in the complaint indicate Dewaelsche had previously come to the agency’s attention over threatening conduct involving Trump in 2018 and then-President Joe Biden in 2024.
Dewaelsche is now charged under a federal law that prohibits knowingly and willfully threatening to kill, kidnap or injure the president, vice president or other officials in the presidential line of succession.
A conviction under the statute can carry up to five years in federal prison.
Dewaelsche appeared in federal court on Oct. 5 and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.
The allegations come amid heightened concern over threats and violence directed at Trump in recent years.
On July 13, 2024, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump was struck in the ear, rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed, and two other spectators were seriously wounded before a Secret Service counter-sniper shot and killed Crooks.
The FBI classified the shooting as an assassination attempt.
Two months later, authorities said Ryan Wesley Routh positioned himself near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while armed with a rifle as Trump played golf nearby.
A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump entered the area. Routh fled but was arrested later that day.
A federal jury convicted Routh in September 2025 of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and firearms offenses.
In February 2026, he was sentenced to life in federal prison plus an additional 84 months.
Trump was targeted again in April 2026 when authorities say Cole Tomas Allen attempted to force his way through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Federal prosecutors said Allen arrived armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives and tried to reach the ballroom where Trump and other senior government officials were gathered.
Trump was not injured.
Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president along with federal firearms offenses. His case remains pending, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Unlike those cases, authorities have not accused Dewaelsche of carrying out an assassination attempt or physically preparing an attack.
The current case centers on the alleged online threats and whether prosecutors can prove they were knowingly and willfully made in violation of federal law.
For the Secret Service, however, threats involving a sitting president are treated as potentially serious regardless of whether they begin online.
Dewaelsche has not been convicted of the charge against him and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
