President Donald Trump attends the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).
A 73-year-old man in California was arrested for allegedly threatening to assassinate Donald Trump in a series of social media posts before and after the 2024 election, writing that he would “not rest” until the president was “six feet under and off the face of the earth.” A federal grand jury last week formally indicted Thomas Eugene Streavel with three felony counts of making threats against the President-elect, court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a copy of the criminal complaint filed in Central California’s U.S. District Court, Streavel began making the online threats through his Facebook account just before the election, sending messages to himself and friends “expressing his desire to harm” Trump.
For example, authorities say that on Oct. 15, 2024, Streavel wrote:
Today is the perfect day to blow his brains out and I’d love to be the one to pull the trigger. I’m sick and tired of listening to the piece of s— lying through his f—ing teeth. We need to kill him for the good of our nation. “GOD BLESS AMERICA US” Have a great day today.
A few weeks later, on Nov. 3, 2024, Streavel “privately posted” a message to himself, writing that he was “praying that someone like me will blow his f—ing brains out,” adding, “Trump’s a dead piece of s— walking for the time being until a patriot kills the spineless mother f—er.”
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Following Trump’s victory in the presidential election, authorities say Streavel continued to post publicly and privately about Trump’s assassination. The day after the election, when it had already become clear that Trump had been reelected, he allegedly wrote, “Trump is a dead man walking for the time being until a patriot like myself blows his f—ing brains out in the very near future.”
Federal authorities compared the alleged messages from Streavel with rhetoric used by Thomas Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Trump in July 2024 before being killed by a Secret Service countersniper team, and Ryan Routh, who is accused of trying to kill Trump in September 2024.
“The type of rhetoric and threats made by this defendant are similar to those that led to an attempt on the President’s life last year,” United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “There is no place for political violence or threats of violence in the United States. We will not hesitate to arrest and charge others who engage in similar criminal conduct.”
Streavel was also apparently angered by the effect Trump’s victory had on the criminal case he was facing in New York, where a jury in May 2024 convicted him on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in connection with the $130,000 hush-money payment made to adult actress Stormy Daniels back in 2016.
On Nov. 20, 2024, one day after Trump’s attorneys filed a motion with Judge Juan Merchan asserting that the charges against Trump should be dismissed due to the election — a possibility that did not appear to sit well with Streavel — he allegedly lashed out again in a message to friends, writing:
Dismiss charges my a–!!!!!!! Someone will blow his f—ing brains out and rightly so. I would love to kill him myself and take pleasure while doing so. He’s a f—ing disgraceful piece of s— and will be a dead man in the very near future. ‘KILL HIM AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN FOR THE GOOD OF OUR NATION AND THE WORLD’ ‘GOD BLESS THE ASSASSIN OF THE WORTHLESS MOTHER F—ER’.
Five days later, Streavel allegedly said that he was “still praying” for Trump’s death, writing to friends that he could “guarantee that he will be assassinated,” referring to Trump as “the bone spurred a–hole.”
Finally, on Nov. 29, 204, Streavel is accused of writing the following in a private message to himself:
Your president-elect is a dead piece of s— and I hope to be the assassin. It would be my pleasure to kill the worthless mother f—er. I’m not going to rest until he’s six feet under and off the face of the earth. ‘GOD BLESS AMERICA US.’ F— TRUMP AND MAGA!
Streavel, who was released after posting 10,000 bond, is facing a maximum of five years on each of the three charges levied against him. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to begin trial on July 28, 2025.
