Vance is not related to the Vice President, whose birth name is James Donald Bowman before being changed to James David Vance(Image: Getty Images)
In a bizarre coincidence, a Michigan man who shares the same name as Vice President JD Vance has been convicted of making threats against President Donald Trump’s life, along with the VP himself and Elon Musk.
James Donald “JD” Vance Jr., 67, of Grand Rapids, pleaded guilty to threatening to kill and injure the president and VP in several posts on the BlueSky social media app using the alias, “Diaperjdv,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan.
“If Trump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag,” Vance allegedly wrote in an April 1 post. “I will either be shot by a Secret Service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I’ve only got about 10 years of life left anyway, so I don’t f—king care either way,” he added.
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Along with the alleged threats against the three men, Vance was also accused of threatening the president’s oldest son in a March 7 post titled, “Donald Trump Jr. Considering a Run for President in 2028.”
“I will murder that stupid f—– before he gets secret service protection,” Vance wrote, according to federal investigators.
Vance pled guilty to two felonies of threatening to kill or injure the president and VP and interstate threatening communications, prosecutors said(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Vance pled guilty to two felonies of threatening to kill or injure the president and VP and interstate threatening communications, prosecutors said.
United States Attorney Timothy VerHey slammed Vance’s use of social media, calling it a direct attack on Democracy, saying such threats cause “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,” VerHey said in a statement.
Vance is not related to the Vice President, whose birth name is James Donald Bowman before being changed to James David Vance.
The case is the second investigated by the Grand Rapids office of the U.S. Secret Service in recent weeks.
Last month, Richard James Spring, of Comstock Park, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a post on X, where he threatened to sexually assault a woman in front of Trump and then kill him, prosecutors said.
US Vice President JD Vance speaks during the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) summit in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
According to court records, Springer made similar threats on TikTok, saying on the platform, “You’re going to watch your god DIE.”
“Threats against our nation’s leaders and their families will not be tolerated,” said William Shink, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Detroit Field Office. “Individuals who threaten the president, Vice President, or any U.S. Secret Service protectee will be investigated and held accountable for their actions.”
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