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WASHINGTON, DC — MAY 13: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the COVID-19 response and vaccination program as Vice President Kamala Harris listens in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
An Arizona man was charged by federal agents on Tuesday for allegedly posting several exceedingly violent threats on social media targeting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
David Michael Hanson stands accused of four counts of threats against the president and successors to the presidency, one count of threatening the president, and five counts of interstate threats, according to a 13-page criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
The defendant previously got off with a warning over several threats made on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, last November, according to the U.S. Secret Service. Then, he posted threats again in December 2023.
On Nov. 19, 2023, three violent threats were posted by an X account with a handle that refers to sexual activity.
“#joeAndKamala,” the first tweet begins, “I’m asking you to resign on Monday your alternative is death brutally murdered…”
Later that same day, the sex-themed account posted: “#assassinate and #bombtheWhiteHouse what are you waiting for do it!”
One minute after that, the sex-themed account reiterated the call for the bombing of the president’s home. This second call for a bombing featured “a clip from the film Independence Day where the White House appears to be on fire,” according to the complaint.
Hours later, an account using a pro-Donald Trump handle posted: “#joeAndKamala dead (skull emoji) required tomorrow we want your resignation.” This post allegedly contained a screenshot of a submission page with the defendant’s first and last name visible.
One minute after that, the Trump-themed account posted: “Because your incompetent #resignation or #assassination your choice” in response to a post made by one of Biden’s official X accounts.
The complaint also includes an X post from an unknown time that day by the sex-themed account which reads: “#joeAndKamala are dead in less than #365days they’re forced out of office and brutally murdered @JoeBiden and @VP run for your lives or resign on Monday.”
Federal authorities say they connected both accounts to Hanson because he posted images and videos of himself that aligned with his driver’s license photo — and due to the use of his own name.
Between Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, 2023, Hanson communicated with two federal agents online, over the phone, and in person. Over the course of those interviews, the defendant said he thought his threats were protected by the First Amendment, was told they were not, and then “explained he understood and would not do it again.”
By late December, authorities allege, the threats started again.
Using three entirely new X accounts — using handles thematically encompassing: (1) Tokyo, Japan; (2) an idiom that refers to lions; and (3) another seemingly-pro-Trump slogan — Hanson allegedly said the current president and vice president are “dead (skull emoji) & buried” and made two threats about perpetrating a mass shooting at a school, namely the University of New Mexico.
In a later interview, Hanson allegedly admitted to posting the new suite of threats but “downplayed the severity by saying nobody followed his accounts” and “went on to say he posted the threats because he wanted attention,” according to the complaint.
Asked specifically about the threat to UNM, Hanson allegedly said he was upset because he had been admitted to a master’s program, granted a scholarship, and was cleared to receive student loans until a female student filed a formal complaint with the university about an “incident” involving him, the criminal complaint says.
The nature of the university complaint is said to have “varied.” Hanson allegedly said the woman’s allegation prompted UNM to pull his admission and student loans without getting his side of the story. While relaying this information, the defendant became “emotional,” the complaint says.
“Continuing being emotional HANSON stated that he felt trapped in hell (Phoenix) and was trying to get to heaven,” the criminal complaint reads. “He needed someone to blame and to get some attention about his plight and that is when he posted about conducting a mass shooting at the University and then subsequently assassinating the POTUS and VPOTUS. Again, HANSON stated that he was just ranting in the moment on a platform that nobody follows.”
The defendant does not currently have an attorney of record, according to the federal court docket for his case. The matter has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Alison S Bachus.
