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)
A man from South Carolina faces serious charges for allegedly threatening the life of former President Donald Trump. Federal prosecutors claim that he posted on X, expressing his desire to permanently silence Trump by “putting him six feet under.”
In a post from September 2025, John Alexander Bellue allegedly declared, “@realDonaldTrump you have the right to remain silent,” followed by a chilling vow, “I’m gonna kill you in the most brutal way possible,” as stated in the indictment.
Last week, Bellue was formally charged by a grand jury with one count of threatening the president and another for using interstate communications to convey his threat. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina is prosecuting the case.
The indictment specifies that on or around September 7, 2025, in South Carolina, Bellue “knowingly and willfully” issued a threat to harm and potentially take the life of the sitting U.S. president, according to the prosecutors.
Prosecutors argue that a “reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances” would view Bellue’s post on X as a “serious expression of an intent to do harm” to the president, underscoring the gravity of the threat.
Bellue, who resides in Rock Hill, is accused of making the threatening post on September 7, 2025, coinciding with Trump attending the U.S. Open men’s tennis tournament in New York City. He was officially indicted on May 19.
Bellue has no known criminal history, with prison and court records showing no prior convictions.
His indictment came just days before U.S. Secret Service officers killed a gunman who opened fire on a White House security checkpoint.
According to reports, 21-year-old Maryland resident Nasire Best started shooting at a checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue while Trump was inside the White House. It is the third shooting to happen near the president in recent weeks, with two other men also opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April and near the Washington Monument earlier this month.
In response to the latest incident, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House, who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.”
Bellue’s next court date has not been scheduled.
