A 20-year-old man from Everett, Washington, has been charged with making repeated threats to kill President Donald Trump on social media, including vows to wear the president's face as a mask. Federal agents warned him to stop after an initial confrontation, but he continued posting alarming content. Phillip Wharton faces two counts of threatening a federal official and is scheduled for arraignment on March 5.
Phillip Wharton, a 20-year-old resident of Everett in Washington state, began posting threats against President Donald Trump on social media platforms including X and Instagram in August 2025. According to a federal complaint from the U.S. Department of Justice, Wharton's posts included images of himself holding weapons and drawings of armed individuals.
One post on X stated: "What the guy in the White House sees after I kill the US PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN AND WEAR HIS FACE AS A MASK," accompanied by a photo of Wharton. In another, he wrote: "Real punks can agree with me on this one. Elon musk and trump are easy targets. WHEN I TWEET THAT ILL ASSASSINATE THE US PRESIDENT THEY DELETE IT."
Secret Service agents identified Wharton using open-source techniques, linking his accounts through usernames, self-reported locations in Washington state, and a personal website featuring his artwork of weapon-wielding figures. Photos across his profiles, including @saydieonline on Instagram, matched Wharton's appearance and included his birthdate.
In September 2025, agents contacted Wharton's father and arranged a meeting at a local bar. Wharton admitted to the posts, explaining they stemmed from anger over his belief that Trump was involved in sex trafficking two 14-year-olds and linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Agents warned him of the seriousness of such threats and potential prosecution; Wharton appeared compliant and agreed to cease.
However, two weeks later, he posted again on Instagram: "I am going to kill the president tomorrow. This is not a joke, but a confession admissible in a court of law." Further reviews in October 2025 uncovered additional concerning content, such as images of Wharton with an object resembling a firearm and a knife, a drawing of Lady Justice decapitating a pig labeled 'ICE,' and a depiction of Luigi Mangione pointing a banana like a pistol at a figure holding a 'Health Insurance' vacuum.
Wharton was arrested in November 2025 and released on bond. He was indicted last week in the Western District of Washington on two counts of threatening a federal official.
