A 24-year-old Kansas man sits in federal custody after allegedly posting calls to shoot President Trump and map rooftops near his Wichita speech, prosecutors warn political disagreements do not license threats.
Federal authorities arrested Jaden J. Read of Clearwater, Kansas, on Saturday and charged him with threatening the president after Facebook comments surfaced under local news coverage of Trump’s planned appearance.
The case started with a Crime Stoppers tip on October 15 about remarks left beneath a KAKE News report on the visit. Investigators later found more comments under a KWCH 12 News post. By October 17, Read was in custody ahead of Trump’s Monday stop at Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City.
Daily Mail reporting described the posts as explicit calls for violence timed to the Kansas trip, which was set to boost Sen. Roger Marshall’s reelection bid against Democrat Adam Hamilton and Libertarian David Graham.
Prosecutors say Read left a string of comments that moved from general talk of shooting to specific claims about weapons and location knowledge.
Just The News reported the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas filed the criminal complaint and that Read remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.
One alleged comment read:
U.S. officials cited this post among the material that triggered the probe:
"Let's shoot Trump honestly, where's our shooter? I'm tired of living this money life."
Another allegedly stated he had obtained rounds and intended to act:
"I just got a 308 and 305 round and I'm killing this pedo,"
Further comments allegedly asked, “Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself,” and claimed, “IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around. Finna get kirked since yall couldn't help him.”
Those details matter because they go beyond angry rhetoric into claimed preparation. The Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Wichita Police Department all took part in the investigation.
Fox News carried the warning from U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser that the charging decision was meant to set boundaries.
Kriegshauser said:
"Political violence and threats of political violence will not be tolerated."
He stressed that Americans may hold and voice strong political opinions, yet that freedom stops short of threats of violence. The charge carries a potential prison term of up to five years.
The Washington Examiner noted the formal allegation: knowingly and willfully threatening to take the life of or inflict bodily harm on the president, with the complaint filed October 17.
Federal charging decisions of this type fit a broader pattern of DOJ action on high-profile cases, including when DOJ seeks indictment in other disputed matters involving security and testimony.
Trump was scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. Monday at the Heartland Credit Union Arena as part of a push ahead of the November 3 elections. The visit centered on support for Marshall.
The timing of the alleged posts landed against the memory of the July 13, 2024, attempt on Trump’s life. On that day Thomas Matthew Crooks, then 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle. Trump was wounded in the right ear. Rally attendee Corey Comperatore was killed. Two others were injured. A Secret Service member shot and killed Crooks.
Local police had been aware of Crooks’ presence for about 90 minutes before the shooting. That history makes any claim of mapped rooftops near a speech site an immediate red flag for protective details.
Threat cases tied to Trump events continue to surface in court, much like the armed suspect at a Trump golf course whose hearing revealed possession of schedule details and Secret Service notes.
Once the Crime Stoppers tip arrived, the investigation moved quickly. Further comments under the second news post were located by October 17. Read was taken into custody in Clearwater the same day and held federally while a detention hearing was scheduled.
No primary charging affidavit text was released in the initial accounts, and it remains unclear from public statements whether any physical weapon matching the claimed “308 and 305 round” language was recovered. The case rests on the alleged online statements and the intent prosecutors say they show.
Accountability after an arrest often turns on the sentence that follows, as seen when an ex-Miami congressman drew a 10-year term in a separate federal case.
Trump himself posted on Truth Social Monday afternoon criticizing Fox News coverage before the Kansas trip, urging viewers to watch the rally on RSBN instead. Those posts did not address the arrest.
Read’s alleged comments mixed grievance language with concrete claims about ammunition and vantage points. Prosecutors treated that mix as a true threat rather than protected opinion.
The U.S. attorney’s office framed the charging decision as a message: disagreement is lawful; threatening to kill a president is not. That distinction protects both free debate and the basic safety of public events.
Voters and taxpayers expect the system to act when online talk turns into claimed targeting of a protected official. Similar enforcement themes appear when Trump vows jail time for officials who ignore election rules, the common thread is consequences for conduct that crosses clear legal lines.
Arrests themselves can land on anyone who breaks the law, a point driven home when the Oklahoma secretary of state was arrested on a public intoxication charge outside a McDonald’s.
Political passion does not cancel the statute. When someone claims to have rounds and rooftops already mapped, the proper response is handcuffs and a courtroom, not another round of excuses.
