A federal jury today convicted a suburban Chicago man of making a true threat to kill multiple public officials, including President Donald J. Trump, the 47th and 45th President of the United States.
Trent Schneider, 58, of Winthrop Harbor, Ill., was found guilty of making a true threat in interstate commerce to injure a person.
The jury returned its verdict after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in Federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
On Oct. 21, 2025, Schneider posted a video of himself on Instagram in which he stated, “People like me have suffered real [expletive] crimes from [expletive] judges, doctors, lawyers, police. They all should be killed. All of them should be executed for what they’ve done . . . I’m going to get some guns. I know where I can get a lot of [expletive] guns and I am going to take care of business myself. I’m tired of all you [expletive] frauds. People need to [expletive] die and people are going to die. [Expletive] all of you, especially you Trump. You should be executed.”
The video also included a caption that stated, in part: “THIS IS NOT A THREAT!!! AFTER LOSING EVERYTHING and My House Auction date is 11.04.2025 @realDonaldTrump SHOULD BE EXECUTED!!!”
In case you need a reminder, online threats are threats.https://t.co/hYnqH4QsSB pic.twitter.com/jPiXRKc9zh
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 27, 2026
On the same date, Schneider appeared at the Lake County, Ill., courthouse and told the judge presiding over Schneider’s pending foreclosure case that he would burn the courthouse down.
“Let this conviction send a clear message that it is never acceptable to threaten a political figure or a member of the judiciary,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “Political violence is not only intolerable, but it is a serious crime. Working closely with our law enforcement partners, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will find, arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those responsible for criminally threatening the safety of our elected officials and judges.”
The conviction was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Dai Tran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lake County, Ill. Sheriff’s Office and the Winthrop Harbor, Ill. Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hanna Helwig and Paige Nutini.
“Threats of political violence are not a joke,” said SAIC Tran. “They are a Federal crime. The U.S. Secret Service vigorously pursues all threats to harm the President of the United States. I am proud of our agents’ work in this case and thank our partners at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Winthrop Harbor Police Department for their assistance in bringing this defendant to justice. I also want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois for prosecuting this case to its conclusion.”
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