California man charged with threatening to assassinate Trump

A Caifornia man has been charged with making repeated threats to assassinate then-President-elect Donald Trump following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Thomas Eugene Streavel, 73, of Yucca Valley, was arraigned on Tuesday after his arrest on Monday. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of making threats against Trump. A federal magistrate judge released him on $10,000 bond, and a trial date was set for July 28 in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

According to the indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on May 29 and unsealed Tuesday, Streavel used his Facebook account both before and after the 2024 election to post numerous messages expressing his desire to harm or have others harm Donald Trump.

On November 6, the day after the election, Streavel allegedly posted: “[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.”

Additional posts cited in the indictment include statements such as, “Let me put a bullet right between the ears of your president-elect…That’s my purpose for living” (November 19), and “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” (November 28).

Streavel faces up to five years in federal prison for each count if convicted. The United States Secret Service is leading the investigation.

“This defendant is charged with threatening the life of our President – a man who has already survived two deranged attempts on his life,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice takes these threats with the utmost seriousness and will prosecute this crime to the fullest extent of the law.”

On July 13, Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by law enforcement at the scene. Later, on September 15, Trump was targeted again while golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. In that incident, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended after being spotted with a rifle near the course.