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President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
A Florida man, aged 36, has been charged with making threats to assassinate former President Donald Trump, along with other public figures, through a series of alarming social media posts. Diego Martin Villavicencio was apprehended last month and faces charges for transmitting threatening communications online, as detailed in court documents.
According to the probable cause affidavit submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Villavicencio allegedly utilized social media platforms and anonymous internet forums to repeatedly post messages advocating violence against politicians, corporate leaders, and the U.S. government.
One of the posts cited by authorities reportedly contained a direct threat to shoot both Trump and former President Joe Biden. This message appeared on the platform 4chan, in reaction to an article about a cryptocurrency event taking place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Investigators identified the threatening message as originating from an account with the username “@oracleofomega.” Through records obtained from the social media platform and internet service providers, officials were able to trace this account back to Villavicencio, the affidavit reveals.
In a separate post, Villavicencio allegedly shared an image of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell with crosshairs superimposed over his head, accompanied by a threat stating that Powell would be “shot and killed” on a specified date.
In another message, Villavicencio allegedly shared an image of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with crosshairs placed over his head and warned that he would be “shot and killed” on a specific date.
The affidavit also says the account threatened a sitting member of Congress.
According to investigators, Villavicencio was responding to the congressman’s post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of refusing to prosecute “multiple direct death threats” against him and his family. Villavicencio allegedly wrote:
“I’ll kill you and your family and you won’t do anything about it. Corruption listens to bullets.”
Investigators say the account then sent the lawmaker a direct message warning that he would be “shot and killed” the following day.
The affidavit does not name the congressman, but Rep. Eric Swalwell confirmed he was the lawmaker referenced in the filing, NBC News reported.
“The aim of this threat was to silence me,” Swalwell, a perennial Trump critic, told the network. “Political violence has never been the answer. And it never will be. My family and I are grateful to the Department of Justice for their attention to this violent threat.”
Records obtained from the social media platform showed the account was created in 2020 using a ProtonMail email address. Investigators later traced login activity to an internet connection associated with a residence in Tallahassee, Florida, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance and additional records ultimately linked the online activity to Villavicencio, investigators said.
Even after the account was suspended from X, authorities say similar threats later appeared on 4chan. One post again repeated several of the same statements — including the call to “Shoot Donald Trump” — while urging violence against politicians and financial leaders, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also references a prior incident involving Villavicencio while he was attending the University of Central Florida. According to the affidavit, he was arrested in 2015 after allegedly pulling a pocketknife during a confrontation with another student at a campus recreation center and later admitted to pointing the knife before discarding it.
Villavicencio is currently scheduled to go to trial in May.