Massachusetts Man Charged with Making a Threat Against the President of the United States
An 18-year-old man from Tewksbury, a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, has been charged federally. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Trenton Touch was charged by criminal complaint with making a threat against the President of the United States. Touch is currently in state custody and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on November 9, 2026.
According to the charging documents, on September 10, 2026, law enforcement received information relating to four Instagram accounts that contained violent and threatening content, including a threat against the President of the United States. The investigation alleges that Touch is the user of all four accounts, and that he submitted multiple communications threatening to kill others, including alleged threats to shoot up a school and a message reading "kill trump."
The documents further allege that on June 21, 2026, Touch posted an image of a firearm in an Instagram direct message along with threats including "it's time" and "im gonna kill trump." During a search of his residence, a revolver-style firearm was seized along with multiple military-style or military surplus items, including camouflage clothing, a ballistics helmet, military-style knives and a hatchet.
Leah B. Foley, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said Touch's alleged threats could not be ignored and that threatening the President is a serious crime and not protected free speech. Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said evidence recovered by FBI Boston's Joint Terrorism Task Force showed Touch allegedly had the means to carry out the threat and posed a grave threat to public safety.
The charge of making a threat against the President provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, with the actual sentence imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and governing statutes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Looney of the National Security Unit is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the Methuen Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations, and Touch is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国联邦调查局总部大楼（GSM联邦固定图库）。 / Photo: Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters (GSM federal asset library).
