Illinois man sentenced to more than 3 years for threatening to kill Trump in Instagram video
An Illinois man has been sentenced to more than 3 years in prison after he was convicted of threatening to kill President Trump in a video he posted on Instagram.
Trent Schneider, 58, of Winthrop, was convicted in March on one count of making a true threat in interstate commerce to injure a person.
Schneider is accused of posting an Instagram video of himself on Oct. 16, 2025, with a caption stating "THIS IS NOT A THREAT!!! AFTER LOSING EVERYTHING and My House Auction date is 11.04.2025 @realDonaldTrump SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!! ࡓ SHE IS A #FRAUD and a #COWARD!!! ૠ SHE CARES NOTHING ABOUT YOU or ME!!!"
"People like me have suffered real f***ing crimes from f***ing judges, doctors, lawyers, police. They all should be killed. All of them should be executed for what they've done. They need to be killed. They need to be executed, ok? They are frauds, ok? I think it's time. I've waited long enough. I'm going to get some guns. I know where I can get a lot of f***ing guns and I am going to take care of business myself. I'm tired of all you f***ing frauds. People need to f***ing die and people are going to die. F*** all of you, especially you Trump. You should be executed," Schneider said, according to prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors said Schneider posted the same video online 18 times between Oct. 16 and Oct. 21.
Federal agents questioned Schneider at his home on Oct. 22, and when asked if he had posted threats online, he "became irate and started yelling for the officers to get off his property," according to the charges. About an hour after the agents left his home, he posted a video of them walking down his driveway, along with another threat saying the president "SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!!"
The Secret Service and Lake County Sheriff's Office arrested Schneider at his home on Nov. 3. At his first court appearance that same day, Schneider asked if he could be put up in the "Trump motel," "with popcorn," until his detention hearing.
He was later ordered helt in custody while he awaited trial.
In March, a jury convicted him of making a true threat in interstate commerce to injure a person. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman sentenced him to 38 months in prison.
Schneider has a lengthy criminal history, according to federal court officials. In December 2022, he was arrested after threatening to "shoot up" a T-Mobile store, but was later found unfit to stand trial, according to federal prosecutors.
