Left: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, in June 2024 (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP). Right: Trent Schneider (Lake County Sheriff’s Office).
An Illinois resident has been charged with threatening to assassinate former President Donald Trump, allegedly making at least 18 menacing statements through social media platforms, federal prosecutors report. Among these threats was a video “selfie,” where 57-year-old Trent Schneider declared his capability to acquire numerous firearms to “take care of business.”
In one particularly alarming Instagram video, Schneider reportedly addressed the camera directly, captioning it with “@realDonaldTrump SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!!” According to a federal complaint, Schneider expressed his intent to harm Trump and other public figures.
The Justice Department document reveals that on October 16, Schneider vented his frustration, stating, “I’m tired of all you f—ing frauds. People need to f—ing die and people are going to die. F— all of you, especially you Trump.”
Continuing his tirade in a separate video the same day, Schneider allegedly condemned various professionals, including judges and police, insisting they should be executed for their actions. His post was punctuated with, “I think it’s time. I’ve waited long enough.” Despite the violent rhetoric, he claimed, “THIS IS NOT A THREAT!!!” in the video’s caption.
In an unsettling move, Schneider uploaded the incendiary clip seven times in one day, tagging the location as Trump Tower in Chicago. The federal complaint details how Schneider also labeled the former president a “fraud.”
Schneider posted the clip seven times in one day, which “included a tagged geolocation of the Trump Tower in Chicago,” the complaint alleges, accusing Schneider of calling the president a “fraud.”
Prosecutors say a “concerned citizen” in Florida viewed the video and reported it to law enforcement. Authorities interviewed Schneider on Oct. 22. The complaint describes how Schneider allegedly became “irate and started yelling” at investigators.
“Approximately one hour after I left the subject residence, [Schneider] posted a video of myself and the two other law enforcement officers who attempted to interview Schneider walking down his driveway,” the complaint says. “The post contained the same threatening caption as the previously described video.”
Schneider was arrested at his home in Winthrop Harbor and booked on one count of “making a true threat to injure another person in interstate commerce.” He appeared in court and allegedly told the judge overseeing his case that he would “burn this castle down,” according to prosecutors.
“When asked by the judge if it was a threat, Schneider said it was not,” the complaint says. Schneider appeared in court Monday as well and asked the court if he could be put up in the “Trump motel” with popcorn, according to local CBS affiliate WBBM.
This isn’t Schneider’s first run-in with the law: Schneider has a long criminal history and allegedly posted “multiple violent messages” about public officials on various social media accounts in 2022.
“According to law enforcement reports, in December 2022, law enforcement officers arrested Schneider based on a report that Schneider made threats to ‘shoot up’ a T-Mobile store,” the complaint says.
In that case, Schneider was found to be unfit to stand trial.
Prosecutors say he used an Instagram account under the username “truthreaper888” to post. When he was interviewed in 2022, authorities said he was wearing a black baseball hat with a white “Punisher”-style skull.
“Schneider is wearing the same hat in all the aforementioned videos,” the complaint alleges.
Schneider has been ordered to remain in federal custody until his next court hearing on Thursday afternoon.
