President Donald Trump gestures past Vice President JD Vance during a FIFA task force meeting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).
A man from Michigan is facing several years in federal prison after confessing that he threatened in a social media post to assassinate President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, stating that should either ever return to his city, they would leave “in a body bag.”
James Donald Vance Jr. — not to be mistaken for the current vice president, James David “JD” Vance — formally pleaded guilty last week to one count of threatening to kill or injure the President and Vice President of the United States and two counts of sending an interstate threatening communication, as per court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The hearing was held on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Phillip J. Green, who recommended that the guilty pleas to all three counts be accepted by the court.
“Acceptance of the plea, adjudication of guilt, and imposition of sentence are specifically reserved for the district judge,” Green wrote. The magistrate also noted that there was “no plea agreement” between James Vance and prosecutors prior to the defendant pleading guilty.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, James Vance posted the threat online using the social media platform Bluesky.
An indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan stated that James Vance “knowingly and willfully” threatened to “take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon, the President and Vice President of the United States.”
James Vance made the incriminating post on April 1 under the username “Diaperjdv,” writing:
“If tRump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag. I will either be shot by a secret service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I”ve only got about 10 years of life left anyway so I don’t f—ing care either way.”
The charge of threatening to kill the president carries a maximum penalty of five years in a federal prison as well as a fine of up to $250,000.
The threatening communication charge in connection with that post states that in writing the comment on Bluesky, James Vance was “consciously disregarding a substantial risk that his communication would be viewed as threatening violence against other persons.”
The second threatening communication charge stems from a March 7 post in which James Vance allegedly threatened the president in response to another user’s post that was titled “Donald Trump Jr. Considering a Run for President in 2028.”
In response, James Vance wrote, “I will murder that stupid f—er before he gets secret service protection,” according to the indictment.
James Vance initially pleaded not guilty to all three charges and was released on a personal recognizance bond. His trial had been scheduled to begin on Aug. 5.
James Vance will now appear before U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney, a George W. Bush appointee, on Nov. 17 for his sentencing hearing.
