Butler man accused of threatening to assassinate Trump

A Butler man is accused of threatening to assassinate President Trump, kill ICE agents and commit a mass shooting, federal prosecutors announced on Friday.

The Department of Justice said 32-year-old Shawn Monper posted threatening comments on YouTube under the username "Mr. Satan." 

Shortly after Mr. Trump was inaugurated, investigators said they confirmed that Monper had gotten a firearms permit. In February, he wrote a comment saying he'd been buying guns and "stocking up" on ammo.  

Investigators said Monper posted multiple comments from January to April. In one, he called for the killing of Trump, Elon Musk and "all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way."  

In a video about Trump, Monper said, "im going to assassinate him myself," and he called Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents "terrorist people," saying if he saw an armed agent, he'd "open fire," prosecutors said.  

In March, investigators said Monper commented, "Eventually im going to do a mass shooting."

Monper's home of Butler Township is the site of the attempted assassination of then-former President Donald Trump. A gunman opened fire during a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on July 13, killing one man and wounding three others, including Mr. Trump. 

"I want to applaud the outstanding and courageous investigative work of the FBI and the Butler Township Police Department, who thankfully identified and apprehended this individual before he could carry out his threats against President Trump's life and the lives of other innocent Americans," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release. 

"Rest assured that whenever and wherever threats of assassination or mass violence occur, this Department of Justice will find, arrest, and prosecute the suspect to the fullest extent of the law and seek the maximum appropriate punishment."  

Monper was arrested on Wednesday by the FBI and Butler Township police. He was ordered detained pending preliminary and detention hearings scheduled for April 14.