EDWARDSVILLE, Illinois – An American man has been charged after posting online several times that he wants to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Joseph Lynn Pickett of Edwardsville was charged June 15 with threatening the president of the United States, the Belleville News-Democrat reported on Friday.
US Secret Service Special Agent Vincent Pescitelli said in a criminal complaint that Pickett “did knowingly and willfully make a threat to take the life of, to kidnap, and to inflict bodily harm” against Trump on Facebook.
After making the online threats, Pickett also posted several times that he was “still waiting” for the Secret Service to come arrest him.
Pickett also bragged about having weapons.
“Please call the Cops on me now so I have an excuse to use my firepower …. AR 15, AK 47, s and w 40, Sig sauer 9 mm. Oh I’m so afraid of the police now..,” he wrote.
Pickett will be detained until a trial because the court can’t ensure the safety of other people in the community due to “mental instability,” according to court documents.
