A Grand Rapids, Michigan, man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for threatening to kill President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and two other people online.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, James Donald Vance Jr., 67, pleaded guilty to threatening to kill or injure the president and vice president and interstate threatening communications. Federal prosecutors say in March and April 2025, Vance Jr. used an alias to post threatening messages on Bluesky, proclaiming that he didn’t care if he was shot by the Secret Service for his actions.
Prosecutors say Vance Jr. threatened four people, including the president, vice president and one of the Mr. Trump’s children.
“The advent of the internet gives us all an opportunity to engage in the healthy exchange of ideas that are so important to a democracy.” U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said in a statement. “But some would rather use this tool to threaten and intimidate, conduct that causes fear and damages our democratic ideals. When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished.”
Federal prosecutors say this is the second incident in a month in the Western District of Michigan where someone threatened the president. In October, Richard Spring, of Comstock Park, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for making threats against Mr. Trump on X and TikTok.
Spring pleaded guilty to one count of threats to kill or injure the president. He will be fined $2,000 and be placed on two years’ supervised release after serving his prison sentence.
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