2 men charged in separate threats to kill Trump

Two men have been charged in separate federal cases with threatening to kill President Trump, with prosecutors in North Carolina and Florida announcing allegations that included online threats and references to explosives.

In North Carolina, Christopher Carnes, 33, was accused in a federal criminal complaint on Tuesday. He is charged with knowingly and willfully making a threat to kill, kidnap or harm the president, which carries up to five years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said Carnes posted several Facebook videos in May while he was in Raleigh, including one in which he threatened to kill Trump and told viewers to alert the Secret Service in Washington.

On June 6, Carnes posted another Facebook video in which he referenced the earlier threats while talking about having pipe bombs, according to prosecutors.

In that video, Carnes showed what he called a “PVC blaster” in the trunk of his car and said he was not “a person for bluff calling,” according to the complaint. Prosecutors said he also claimed the government knew he had “a live bomb” in his car.

Investigators met with Carnes at the Raleigh Police Department on June 10. Prosecutors said he arrived in the same car seen in the Facebook videos.

A police dog later alerted to the possible presence of explosive materials in the vehicle. Officers searched the car and found PVC pipe and a metal pin.

In Florida, federal prosecutors said Ryan Brown, 27, of Crescent City, was indicted on two counts of threatening to kill the president.

According to the indictment, Brown sent a message to whitehouse.gov on April 16 threatening to blow up the White House within a week. Prosecutors said he sent another message to the site on May 25 saying, in part, that he would kill the president “in cold blood.”

If convicted on both counts, Brown faces up to 10 years in federal prison.