William L. Upham, 35, of Jacksonville, has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with threatening the President of the United States, according to a June 26 announcement by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. If convicted, Upham faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. He appeared in federal court in Jacksonville earlier on June 26 and has been ordered detained.
According to the complaint, the United States Secret Service received reports concerning potential threats against the President made by Upham, who is identified as a former Marine and state prosecutor. Secret Service agents observed two videos posted by Upham on his social media accounts. In one video, Upham was seen wearing his military uniform and stated: “this is a call to arms,” calling for the overthrow of the Trump administration. He also provided instructions on how to “overthrow” the President, recommending use of a semi-automatic rifle such as an AR-15 and instructing that “the enemy” should be killed with “two shots to the chest” and “one shot to the head,” which he said would result in a very high chance of death.
A second video showed Upham again wearing his military uniform making similar statements including: President Trump is “the enemy” and “must be killed.” After these videos surfaced, Secret Service received communication from Upham sent to a third party stating he made these videos to “declare war” against President Trump and that he would “kill President Trump at the time that God chooses.” The agency also learned that Upham had access to firearms and had made concerning statements to law enforcement as recently as July 2026.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that a criminal complaint is merely a formal charge alleging violation of federal law; every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case was investigated by both the United States Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kelli Swaney is prosecuting.