A federal grand jury has indicted a Rock Hill, South Carolina, man after he allegedly used social media to threaten the life of President Donald Trump.
According to federal court records unsealed following his May 19 indictment, John Alexander Bellue faces one count of threatening the president and one count of using interstate communications to transmit a threat. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina is prosecuting the case.
The charges stem from a social media post made on Sept. 7, 2025, while Trump was attending the U.S. Open men’s tennis tournament in New York City. Prosecutors allege that Bellue tag-targeted the president’s official account on the platform X.
“@realDonaldTrump you have the right to remain silent,” Bellue allegedly wrote. “I’m gonna kill you in the most brutal way possible.”
The indictment states that Bellue wrote he wanted to silence Trump forever by putting him “six feet under.”
“On or about September 7, 2025, in the District of South Carolina, the defendant … did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States,” federal prosecutors noted in the indictment.
READ: Trump Blasts Republican Critics And Democrats In Early Morning Memorial Day Posts
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that a “reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances” would interpret the online message as a “serious expression of an intent to do harm” to the president.
Prison and court records indicate that Bellue has no known criminal history and no prior convictions. A date for his next court appearance has not yet been set by the federal court.
The indictment was handed down during a period of heightened security challenges for federal law enforcement. Days after the grand jury’s decision, U.S. Secret Service officers shot and killed a gunman at a White House security checkpoint.
Authorities identified that shooter as Nasire Best, a 21-year-old resident of Maryland. Reports indicate Best opened fire at a security checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue while the president was inside the executive mansion.
The security breach marks the third shooting incident near the president in recent weeks. Two other separate incidents involved gunmen opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April and near the Washington Monument earlier in May.
Following the checkpoint shooting, Trump released a statement on Truth Social addressing the response of security personnel.
“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,” Trump wrote.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
