Man charged in alleged plot to kill President Biden at 2024 debate

A 23-year-old Alabama man has been arrested and charged with traveling across state lines with the intent to kill then-President Biden, after authorities say he drove to Atlanta armed with a firearm ahead of a 2024 presidential debate.

The arrest and court appearance occurred Wednesday in the Northern District of Georgia, where federal prosecutors said Adam Benjamin Hall traveled from Alabama to Atlanta on June 27, 2024, planning to sneak into a presidential debate hosted by CNN that evening to carry out the killing.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hall’s phone contained a screenshot of a map showing a location marker approximately three blocks from the debate site about 28 minutes before the scheduled start time, adjusted to local time.

Prosecutors said Hall’s phone also contained a note he described as his “exposé” or manifesto, addressed in part to “all the Palestinian journalists” and referencing those who “lost their lives along the way.”

The note included statements calling for violent action, references to overthrowing the government, threats against Tel Aviv, and language encouraging armed marches on Capitol Hill, the White House, and the Supreme Court.

Hall, of Crane Hill, Alabama, was charged by criminal complaint with interstate stalking. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing and that additional charges may be filed.

“Threats against the President are gravely serious and must be treated as such,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. “Hall’s alleged actions went beyond mere words and included traveling to Georgia with a firearm to murder President Biden.”