Diego Martin Villavicencio, a 36-year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, has pleaded guilty to threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He admitted intending to drive there and shoot the president, as detailed in court documents. Villavicencio faces up to 25 years in prison.
Diego Martin Villavicencio pleaded guilty this week to charges including sending interstate threats, impeding or retaliating against a federal official, and threats against the president. According to the Justice Department statement of facts, he confessed that his social media post stating 'I'm going to shoot … Donald Trump' was a true threat meant to take the president's life or inflict bodily harm. He was taken into custody in February after posting violent messages on social media and 4chan targeting Trump, former President Joe Biden, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, among others. One post referenced Mar-a-Lago directly: 'I'll be driving there to take a couple shots at trump and some of the other corrupt plutocrats.' Other messages called for violence, including 'Death to America,' 'Kill politicians,' 'Shoot Joe Biden,' and 'Shoot Donald Trump.' U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida emphasized the dangers of such threats in a statement, noting they occurred just days after an alleged assassination attempt on Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. 'Threats of violence can quickly escalate to acts of violence by deranged individuals,' Heekin said. His office is committed to prosecuting such cases aggressively. Villavicencio is scheduled for sentencing on July 20.
