President Donald Trump stands outside the White House, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon).
A former U.S. Air Force member from Michigan is currently detained for allegedly threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, citing grievances with his administration’s policies on LGBTQ rights and immigration. According to federal investigators, the individual, identified as Joshua Young, posted on Instagram declaring his intent to “kill trump, raise him from the dead and kill him again.”
Joshua Young, a 21-year-old resident of Ishpeming, faces charges for making threats to harm the president and for transmitting threats across state lines through social media. Among his purported posts were declarations such as “Death to the dictator” and “Kill the dictator,” alongside extensive rants justifying his desire to harm the president.
In a Facebook post cited in a federal criminal complaint, Young allegedly expressed his belief that “The trump administration will not listen to peaceful protests,” and criticized them for their inability to understand, stating, “They can’t comprehend it with their little rich braincells.” He further incited, “The Whitehouse burned down once before, we need to burn it down again. This time with them in it.”
Young is also accused of writing inflammatory comments such as, “Their cries need to be heard all over the world. This is what we do to Nazis. Their reign of terror is over. DEATH TO POTUS. DEATH TO MAGA. #FreeAmerica.”
On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Young allegedly suggested: “We need to bring back public executions and execute the trump administration for the world to see. We can’t let that Nazi gain anymore power.”
Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maarten Vermaat ordered Young to be detained, citing the compelling evidence against him and the risk he poses as a “serious danger to any person or the community,” as outlined in Vermaat’s order.
The felony charges Young is facing each carry potential penalties of five years in a federal prison. The threats he allegedly made online were posted in January, April and June across multiple platforms.
Authorities, including the U.S. Secret Service, were tipped off in September about the alleged posts and Young was visited on Oct. 7 by agents, according to the complaint.
“When asked why he made the comments … Young stated, ‘I don’t like what he’s doing’ referencing President Trump,” the complaint alleges. “Young continued to explain he is a gay/non-binary person who aligns with the LGBTQ community and is angered by the administration’s policies on LGBTQ rights.”
Young went on to say that he is “frustrated and saddened with the current situation surrounding immigration rights” — telling investigators, “I hurt when others hurt,” according to the complaint. “Young continued by stating the administration’s ‘lack of assistance and protecting the American people and protecting the elites’ frustrates him.”
Young admitted to being behind the posts and accounts linked to them, which used online aliases, per the complaint. He also allegedly confessed to wanting to target Trump specifically.
Young was a member of the Air Force from August 2022 until he was discharged in January 2024, the complaint says. He is being held in Marquette County.
