A 46-year-old Florida man faces federal charges for allegedly sending emails vowing to murder President Donald Trump. Markus Edward Hamlett, a former U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force member, sent the threats in May 2025 and made similar statements during a mental health hold. Authorities also linked him to prior incidents in California and an email to the CIA.
Markus Edward Hamlett, 46, from Florida, has been indicted on one count of making a threat against the president of the United States. The charges stem from a series of emails he allegedly sent on May 17 and 18, 2025, using his personal Yahoo account. In those messages, Hamlett wrote, "I'm planning on murdering Donald Trump," and added, "He's VERY dangerous and I'll stop at nothing to stop him." He also claimed, "Markus Hamlett has a plan to murder Donald Trump."
The following day, on May 19, 2025, Hamlett emailed that Trump "is done," stating, "and I'll be the one to pull the plug." Additional messages referenced his time in Washington, D.C., where he said he went "to plan to murder Trump," and included a supposed receipt from those days.
On January 30, 2026, deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office took Hamlett into custody and placed him on a 72-hour involuntary mental health hold at the Lakeview Center in Pensacola, Florida. While there, he made verbal threats to staff about taking President Trump's life, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed Hamlett at the facility, where he reportedly said, "I have been sending emails and making phone calls for a year trying to get arrested." A federal database check revealed a prior arrest in October 2025 in San Jose, California, after Hamlett called 911 and described a "great plan to assassinate Donald Trump." He was released shortly after that incident.
Hamlett also sent an email on December 3, 2025, to the CIA's public website, beginning with "The murder of Donald Trump!" and threatening further action if he did not get his phone back.
Jury selection for his trial is set to begin on April 6, 2026, in Pensacola.
