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Albuquerque man to spend nearly one year in prison for threatening President Trump
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Editor鈥檚 note: This article appeared with the wrong headline in Saturday鈥檚 Journal. The article, with the correct headline, is being republished today, along with the accompanying story.
An Albuquerque man will spend nearly a year in prison for threatening President Donald Trump on social media.
Tyler Leveque, 38, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison for using social media platforms to threaten to kill the president, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for New Mexico. In September, Leveque pleaded guilty to the crime.
Leveque will face three years of supervised probation after his release.
From Jan. 2 to Jan. 4, Leveque 鈥渕ade statements indicating his disdain for several people and groups of people鈥� in posts on TikTok, X and Facebook, the release states.
Leveque began his tirades on TikTok on Jan. 2 when he made posts that said people should be 鈥�(expletive) scared鈥� and that he did not care if he died and that should frighten people before ending his videos with 鈥漅un, run,鈥� according to the release.
In response to a Jan. 2 post from Trump, Leveque wrote 鈥淒ie,鈥� the release states.
During an interview with the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI, Leveque said he made threatening posts on X against then-President-elect Trump, including one on Jan. 3 that said, 鈥淚 got my eyes on you sir! Cant wait for your Victory rally! The 19th right!? Lol you and your rich friends are dead no threat a promise,鈥� according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The following day, Leveque posted on Facebook and said he had recently bought his first gun to hunt the rich, according to the release. Leveque threatened to march to state offices on Jan. 19 and 鈥渄emand change鈥� and said he was fighting for what he believed was right.
鈥淗ey world hey America hey trump hey ceos get rich we are hunting you down,鈥� Leveque wrote on Facebook. 鈥淗ahaha I鈥檓 getting ready myself! Here we come it ends now.鈥�
The U.S. Secret Service and the FBI on Jan. 6 went to Leveque鈥檚 house and found that he was in the process of buying a gun from an Albuquerque firearms dealer but had not received it yet, according to the release.
Leveque said his online posts were protected under the First Amendment, but law enforcement said the posts had 鈥渃rossed the line into threats,鈥� according to the release.
鈥淭hreatening violence against public officials is a serious federal offense, and this office will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law,鈥� said acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison in a statement Wednesday.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 sentencing serves as a clear reminder that such threats carry significant, lifelong consequences, including time spent incarcerated, a permanent felony record, the loss of firearm rights, and years of federal supervision. We hope others take note and choose a different path.鈥�
