A 24-year-old Kansas man is facing a federal charge of threatening the president after Facebook comments allegedly said he wanted to shoot Donald Trump and claimed he had mapped out roofs near the president's Wichita rally.
Jaden J. Read of Clearwater, a town about half an hour from Wichita, was arrested at his home Saturday, the same day a federal criminal complaint was filed against him, according to several outlets. The rally took place Monday evening at Heartland Credit Union Arena, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas announced the charge Monday, according to KSNW and FOX LiveNOW.
Everything described here is an allegation. Read has not been convicted of anything, and the account below rests on news reports of the complaint rather than on the complaint itself, which was not available for this story.
What the Posts Allegedly Said
According to a Wichita television report carried on Yahoo, investigators found at least four Facebook comments, all posted on Thursday, Oct. 15. The first two appeared beneath a KAKE article about the president's visit, and the next two under a KWCH 12 article.
FOX LiveNOW reported that one of the comments, as quoted by prosecutors, read:
"Let's shoot Trump honestly, where's our shooter? I'm tired of living this money life."
The Yahoo News report quoted others. One read, "Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself." Another read, "IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around." A fourth, as quoted in the same coverage, read, "I just got a 308 and 305 round and I'm killing this pedo."
It is worth being precise about what is and is not known. The rooftop claim comes from the post itself. Nothing in the reporting available so far confirms that Read actually scouted any location, or that he had a firearm or ammunition. Those are questions the full complaint and any later court filings may answer.
A Tip and a Lot of Badges
Several outlets, including KSNW, reported that a Crime Stoppers tip reached authorities on Thursday, Oct. 15. The notes do not say who made the tip. Fox News described the arrest as following tips, plural, while other outlets referred to a single tip. That difference has not been resolved.
KSNW reported that the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Wichita Police Department were all involved. The posts were dated Oct. 15, the complaint was filed Oct. 17, and the rally was held two days after that.
The Charge and the Stakes
According to the Washington Examiner, Read is charged with knowingly and willfully threatening to take the life of, or inflict bodily harm on, the president. The offense carries a maximum sentence of five years. The complaint was filed Oct. 17.
No plea, defense attorney or statement from Read has surfaced in the reporting so far, so his side of the story is not yet known.
The posts were made online before the event, not at the rally itself, and the reports reviewed describe no incident at the arena on Monday night.
What Happens Next
No court dates have been made public. Read can be expected to make an initial appearance and to face a detention hearing, and a grand jury indictment is possible. The full complaint and the Justice Department release should show how investigators tied the account to him and whether anything beyond the posts supports the claim about the rooftops.
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