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Background: President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Evan Vucci). Inset: Tyler Leveque posts a statement to TikTok on Jan. 2, 2025 (TikTok).
A resident of New Mexico has been sentenced to less than a year in prison for making threats against Donald Trump shortly before his second inauguration as President.
The Justice Department revealed on Wednesday that Tyler Leveque, aged 38, received a prison term of approximately 10 months for “issuing violent threats against the President via social media.” U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs, appointed by Trump, delivered the sentence, which amounts to “324 days or time served, whichever is shorter.” Following his release, Leveque will be subjected to three years of supervised probation.
Leveque’s online threats began in January, when he posted multiple messages expressing his intentions to target the president as well as other prominent figures.
According to the Department of Justice, “In a TikTok video posted on January 2, 2025, Leveque expressed his animosity towards various individuals and groups,” adding that he claimed these people should be “terrified.”
In the TikTok video, Leveque declares, “I don’t care if I die. That’s what should scare you. In fact, I’m afraid of living.”
“So, run, run,” he added at the end of the post.
Leveque also took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Jan. 3, to issue his threats.
“[Donald Trump] I got my eyes on you sir!” he wrote. “Cant wait for your Victory rally! The 19th right!? Lol you and your rich friends are dead no threat a promise.”
Leveque addressed Trump directly, the DOJ said.
“In response to a January 2, 2025, post from President-Elect Trump, Leveque wrote ‘Die,’” prosecutors noted in the DOJ statement.
Additional threats posted to Facebook on Jan. 4 included:
- “Just bought my first gun b—es!”
- “Hey world hey America hey trump hey ceos get rich we are hunting you down! Hahaha I’m getting ready myself! Here we come it ends now”
- “The 19th we march the sts to our state offices and demand change they are threatening shutting down the power grid on us! F— them! If ur there see ya! If not! U disappoint me and wish u the best I more than likely will die or be thrown in jail but unlike u all I am fighting for what’s right!”
Leveque also targeted Elon Musk, writing on X on Jan. 3 that “its too late for yall shouldve shut down tik tok a long time ago see u on the 19thfor war!”
Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time on Jan. 20, 2025.
Leveque pleaded guilty in September to one count of making threats against the president. An additional two counts of making interstate communications containing threats were dropped.
“Between on or January 2, 2025, and January 4, 2025, in Bernalillo County, in the District of New Mexico, I, Tyler Miles Leveque, knowingly posted recordings and messages on social media threatening to kill then President-elect, Donald Trump,” his plea agreement said. “I understood the words I wrote, said, and uttered to be true threats, as that term is interpreted under federal law. I wrote, said, and uttered these words knowingly and willfully.”
Leveque faced a potential maximum of five years in prison. The DOJ’s announcement noted that “there is no parole in the federal system.”