⏱ 2 min read
Diego M. Villavicencio, a 36-year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for sending multiple threats to kill the President and federal officials. Between September 2025 and January 2026, Villavicencio made online threats against President Donald J. Trump, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell.
Villavicencio’s threats were posted on social media platforms, including X and 4chan. On September 15, 2025, he posted an image of a red sight and crosshairs pointed at Powell’s head, along with the text ‘Jerome. Powell will be shot and killed September 23’. He also sent direct messages to Representative Swalwell, stating ‘You are going to be shot and killed on September 24’.
On January 25, 2026, Villavicencio responded to a post on 4chan, stating that he would be driving to Mar-a-Lago ‘to take a couple of shots at trump and some of the other corrupt plutocrats’. These threats led to his arrest and subsequent sentencing to two years in federal prison.
Villavicencio’s case is a prime example of the increasing number of criminal threats directed at public officials. U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin stated that ‘Criminal threats directed at public officials are becoming alarmingly more common, and this must stop now’.
The sentencing of Villavicencio serves as a warning to those who would seek to threaten the lives of public officials. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies take these threats seriously and will continue to prosecute those who make them.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Violent Crime
- Defendant: Florida
- Location: US
- Source: DOJ Press Release
