President Donald Trump smiles as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
A Texas resident faces charges for allegedly threatening harm, kidnapping, and even the murder of former President Donald Trump, alongside other individuals, according to federal authorities.
Ronnie “Chip” Austin Jr., aged 56, is accused of one count of making threats against the president and successors, as well as one count of interstate communication with threats to kidnap or injure. These charges were outlined in a four-page indictment issued by the Eastern District of Texas on Wednesday, which was subsequently made public on Friday.
Federal prosecutors claim Austin’s alleged threats were communicated via emails sent to unidentified individuals. Between March 16 and May 17 of this year, he purportedly issued a series of explicit, violent threats.
One of the emails allegedly began with, “My life has been threatened by the actions of the CIA and the FBI, and by legal extension, YOU, the President of the USA,” expressing clear hostility. Austin reportedly declared himself “an active threat, a clear and present danger to the President of the USA.”
The complaint further details Austin’s grievances, asserting that numerous national security agencies, including the CIA, FBI, IRS, and even the U.S. Supreme Court, were conspiring against his life and financial well-being.
“Because of the lawbreaking of all of these USA federal entities against me, I can legally defend myself against them,” the cited email goes on. “This means that I, and my delegates and representatives (my supporters) can kill these people in self-defense.”
The charging document, citing the email, also contains a subheading in all-caps and bold letters reading: “PREPARE TO BE ATTACKED.”
The next section of the email reads, at length:
President Trump, I suggest that you order the USA military and/or the National Guard to surround all installations of these government entities to defend them. This will make it easier for me and my delegates and representatives to kill them in my self-defense! If any of these people (that you or anyone else of USA’s federal government orders to defend these installations) takes any actions against me or my supporters, they will be breaking USA federal law and going against the U.S. Constitution. Mr. President, Congress, and Supreme Court, YOU have caused this constitutional crisis!
The second count of the charging document clarifies that Austin made the alleged threats “from the State of Texas to the State of Arizona” in “a communication” containing the aforementioned email “among other material.”
That is, the second allegation wholly reiterates the language said to have been used by the defendant in the first count while suggesting that perhaps something more than an email was sent.
The second count also identifies the targets as “employees of Raytheon and other businesses, members of state and county government in the State of Texas, employees of the Defense Logistics Agency, employees of the United States Air Force, members of Congress, and the President of the United States.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced the charges in a press release last week.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the press release reads.
Austin was arrested on June 4 and is being represented by the Federal Public Defender’s Office, court records show.