An Albuquerque man has been sentenced to about 10 months in federal prison after making violent threats against President-Elect Donald Trump through social media posts in early January 2025. Tyler Leveque, 38, posted a series of statements on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook that included threats toward Trump and other public figures.
Court documents indicate that on January 2, Leveque posted a video on TikTok expressing hostility toward various people and stating they should be "fucking scared." He added that his willingness to die should frighten them the most and ended the video with "Run, run."
The following day, Leveque used X to address Trump directly, posting: "@realDonaldTrump I got my eyes on you sir! Cant wait for your Victory rally! The 19th right!? Lol you and your rich friends are dead no threat a promise" and "Hey @celebrities @ceos @elonmusk @DonaldTrump @Joemarafa its too late for yall shouldve shut down tik tok a long time ago see u on the 19thfor war!" In response to another post from President-Elect Trump, he wrote simply: “Die.”
On January 4, Leveque made further statements on Facebook such as: “Just bought my first gun bitches!” He also wrote: “Hey world hey America hey trump hey ceos get rich we are hunting you down! Hahaha I’m getting ready myself! Here we come it ends now” and encouraged others to join him in action against state offices.
Law enforcement from the U.S. Secret Service and FBI contacted Leveque at his residence two days later. They discovered he was attempting to buy a firearm from an Albuquerque dealer; while he had paid online for the weapon by January 4, he had not completed the purchase or taken possession of it. Although Leveque asserted that his posts were protected speech under the First Amendment, agents informed him that making threats is not constitutionally protected.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison commented: “Threatening violence against public officials is a serious federal offense, and this office will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law. Today’s sentencing serves as a clear reminder that such threats carry significant, lifelong consequences, including time spent incarcerated, a permanent felony record, the loss of firearm rights, and years of federal supervision. We hope others take note and choose a different path.”
Ron Emmot, Resident Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Albuquerque Resident Office said: “The sentencing today reminds all of us that threatening violence is not protected speech and the United States Secret Service will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue prosecution on all threats against our protectees and elected public officials.”
Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Division stated: "The FBI wants to remind the public that we uphold and support every individual’s constitutional right to free speech. Free speech protects ideas and debates, but it does not and will never protect violence," adding "Threatening speech that is directed toward a specific person or a group of people, whether you believe it to be anonymous or harmless, will be investigated by federal agents and we will hold them accountable."
Leveque pleaded guilty to making threats against both the President and successors to the Presidency. After serving his sentence he will face three years of supervised release.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Secret Service with help from both the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office and local police. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Mexico.
