A federal court has allowed prosecutors to bring charges against a Kentucky man for Instagram messages that included graphic threats against the president and federal law enforcement officers. The defendant, identified in court records as Santiago, faces two counts of making threatening interstate communications—one for threats against the president and one for threats against law enforcement.
Judge Chad Meredith rejected the defense's argument that the messages were protected political hyperbole. While acknowledging that courts can sometimes remove a true-threat question from a jury, he found that the evidence here was disputed and not clear-cut enough to decide as a matter of law. A reasonable jury could conclude the statements were genuine threats, he wrote, and therefore the case must go to trial.
The ruling draws on an FBI affidavit describing a series of messages sent over several months in early 2026. Among them were statements such as "death to trump," calls for people to "start shooting" ICE agents, and a threat to "stuff a grenade" in an agent. The judge noted that the First Amendment would not apply if the jury determines these were true threats rather than protected speech.