A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested after allegedly urging someone to shoot President Donald Trump, officials said.
Jaden J. Read of Clearwater was arrested on Saturday, two days after authorities received a tip about a series of disturbing Facebook posts linked to Trump’s planned visit to Wichita on Monday, according to the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors said the investigation began on October 15, when a person contacted Crime Stoppers to report comments Read allegedly posted beneath a KAKE News story about the president’s scheduled October 19 appearance.
In one comment, Read allegedly called for Trump to be shot, writing, ‘Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter? I’m tired of living this money life.’
He allegedly continued in the comment thread by saying he had obtained ammunition and threatening to kill the president.
‘I just got a 308 and 305 round and I’m killing this pedo,’ Read wrote, according to prosecutors.
Investigators later found additional comments Read allegedly posted on October 17 beneath a separate KWCH 12 News report about Trump’s visit.
Read allegedly said he would shoot Trump himself, then claimed he knew where the president would speak and had already located nearby rooftops.
A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested after allegedly urging someone to shoot President Donald Trump, officials said
Jaden J. Read of Clearwater was arrested on Saturday, two days after authorities received a tip about a series of disturbing Facebook posts concerning Trump’s planned visit to Wichita on Monday, according to the Department of Justice
‘Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself,’ Read allegedly wrote.
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A minute later, he allegedly added, ‘IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around. Finna get kirked since yall couldn’t help him.’
The posts led to a federal investigation and Read’s arrest in Clearwater on October 17.
He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
Read is facing a federal charge of threatening the president, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
Ryan A Kriegshauser, the US attorney for Kansas, said the case underscored that political disagreements do not give anyone the right to issue threats of violence.
He added that Americans have the right to express forceful political views, but that freedom of speech has legal boundaries.
The Secret Service, US Marshals Service, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Highway Patrol and Wichita Police Department are participating in the investigation.
Read allegedly said he would shoot the president himself (pictured boarding Air Force One before the rally), then claimed he knew where Trump would speak and had already identified nearby rooftops
Read’s reference to rooftops echoed the location used by Thomas Matthew Crooks when he shot Trump on July 13, 2024.
Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle at Trump just moments after he took the stage.
The president’s right ear was wounded, and a rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, died. Two others were injured.
