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Left: David Cherry (Indiana State Police). Right: Elon Musk speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
An Indiana man has allegedly threatened to “gut” billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk and parade his “corpse through the streets.”
David Allen June Cherry, 28, is facing a count of intimidation, a felony, the Indiana State Police said in a Facebook post. As Law&Crime previously reported, the investigation began Feb. 18 when authorities in Texas contacted their counterparts in the Hoosier State about an X account tied to Cherry that allegedly made threats toward Musk earlier this month.
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Cops identified a series of posts on X earlier over the last few months under the account @effective_pawn. The posts were mostly replying to Musk’s tweets and are as follows (all times Central Standard Time):
Dec. 6 at 5:21 p.m.: We’re gunning you down, Muskrat.
Jan. 22 at 11:30 p.m.: I’ve got enough bullets for his b—- a– and all the rest of you manchildren [in a reply to Andrew Tate]
Feb. 3 at 3:01 p.m.: You’ve broken the law. You’re on the hit list.
Feb. 3 at 3:22 p.m.: You’re robbing the American people. We will gut you and parade your corpse through the streets.
Feb. 26 at 3:47 p.m.: I am going to plant a bomb in Elon Musk’s house
After receiving the X posts, troopers obtained an search warrant to “ping” Cherry’s phone. It showed he was located in the area of Veterans Parkway and Sam Gwin Boulevard in Clarksville, a town along the Indiana-Kentucky border. They found Cherry at his workplace and he agreed to go to the state police Sellersburg Post for further questioning.
After receiving his Miranda warning, he confirmed he posted under the account in question. He said he made the post to be “edgy” and receive reactions online, and that he never intended to do Musk harm.
Cherry stands accused of level five intimidation. According to an Indiana defense attorney, it carries up to a six-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine.
Police took Cherry to the Harrison County Jail where he posted a $2,500 bond. Detectives requested and obtained a search warrant for Cherry’s home in Palmyra where hey confiscated an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun, ammunition, and a ballistic vest from the residence, according to cops.
Musk, the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, has seen his public profile skyrocket with his support of Donald Trump. He now heads up the DOGE, which is not an official government agency that has been tasked by Trump to cut wasteful spending. The effort has been met with lawsuits and concerns from Democrats and others that Trump has given Musk “unchecked” power.
A judge last week rejected a request from 14 Democratic states seeking to obtain a temporary restraining order to stop Musk and DOGE from obtaining federal data and firing employees.
The @effective_pawn account was suspended for violating X’s rules.
