A 35-year-old Republican write-in congressional candidate and former U.S. Marine was arrested in Florida this week after posting videos calling President Donald Trump "the Antichrist" and declaring that he "must be killed." Federal prosecutors charged William L. Upham with threatening the President of the United States, a crime that carries up to five years in federal prison.
Upham appeared in federal court in Jacksonville on Thursday and was ordered detained pending further proceedings, Fox News Digital reported. The arrest came one day after investigators moved on the former Marine, who had posted a nearly seven-minute video to his campaign account on X and then, according to the federal criminal complaint, emailed a reporter to say he made the videos "to declare war against President Trump on behalf of God."
The case is the latest in a string of politically charged threats and attacks against Republican figures, and it raises hard questions about how a man who described himself as a prosecutor and congressional candidate could broadcast explicit calls for political violence and not be flagged sooner.
In the video posted to his campaign account @uphamforflorida, Upham spoke directly to the camera:
"We are led by a president who is the enemy of God. He is a false messiah. And he is your enemy. And he must be killed."
The criminal complaint goes further. Investigators reviewed a second video in which Upham allegedly described his message as "a call to arms" and urged viewers to overthrow the Trump administration. He allegedly recommended using a semi-automatic rifle, such as an AR-15, and instructed followers that the "enemy" should be killed with "two shots to the chest" and "one shot to the head."
Those are not the ramblings of an abstract political argument. They are specific tactical instructions broadcast on a public platform under the banner of a congressional campaign.
Upham allegedly doubled down in writing. The complaint states he emailed a reporter, whose identity and outlet have not been disclosed, saying he would "kill President Trump at the time that God chooses." In separate written statements referenced in the complaint, Upham allegedly declared that the country "must overthrow President Trump by the violent use of force and kill him."
Upham had filed as a Republican write-in candidate in Florida's 5th Congressional District. The Washington Examiner reported that Upham was running against five-term incumbent Rep. John Rutherford, with a primary set for August 18. On his X profile, Upham described himself as a prosecutor "running to fix a broken political system."
In the opening of the video, Upham reportedly said he entered the race to restore bipartisanship, return power to the working class, and "fix our broken political system." He then pivoted sharply, saying he had come to believe the country is "broken" and that America is engaged in a spiritual battle, before delivering the explicit threat against the sitting president.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida filed the charge. The FBI, the White House, and Upham's campaign were all contacted for comment by Fox News Digital. None responded.
The Marine Corps moved quickly to distance itself. In a post on X, the service stated:
"The Marine Corps is aware of the disturbing statements made by William Upham. The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service's values."
The Corps confirmed that Upham had been medically discharged on May 30, 2025, more than a year before the videos surfaced. Breitbart reported that Upham wore his Marine uniform during the threatening video, a detail that likely accelerated the military's public response.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao posted his own condemnation on X:
"Unacceptable. William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos."
The U.S. Secret Service acknowledged the situation in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying it "investigate[s] anything that can be perceived as a threat toward one of our protectees" but declined to discuss operational details.
Upham's arrest does not exist in a vacuum. The country has seen a troubling rise in threats and acts of political violence directed at Republican officials and their supporters. A Navy veteran was recently tied to an attack on a San Diego home decorated with Trump imagery, and politically motivated threats have surfaced across social media platforms with alarming regularity.
What sets Upham's case apart is the brazenness. This was not an anonymous account or a dark-web post. It was a man running for Congress under his own name, wearing his former service's uniform, posting on his official campaign account, and then emailing a reporter to make sure the message was received.
The criminal complaint's description of Upham's specific tactical instructions, the weapon type, the shot placement, moves this well beyond protected political speech and into the territory of direct incitement. Federal law treats threats against the president as a distinct and serious offense for exactly this reason.
Cases involving threats against political figures do not always result in prosecution. In one recent West Virginia case, prosecutors dropped charges against a librarian accused of recruiting Trump assassins on social media. The Upham case, with its on-camera statements, written follow-ups, and specific tactical language, appears to present a far stronger evidentiary foundation.
The political class will spend the next few days debating whether Upham was mentally unwell, politically motivated, or some combination of both. Those are fair questions. His medical discharge from the Marine Corps raises obvious concerns about his mental state, though the specific nature of that discharge has not been disclosed.
But the more pressing question is about the environment that produces someone like William Upham. A man who apparently held himself out as a prosecutor and a serious candidate for federal office decided that the appropriate response to political disagreement was to post a video calling for the president's assassination, complete with weapon recommendations and shot placement.
The rhetoric around Trump has been incendiary for years, from mainstream commentators who compare him to dictators to academics who frame his presidency as an existential threat to democracy. When the temperature runs that high for that long, it is not surprising that some individuals take the next step. That does not excuse Upham. It indicts the broader culture that treats apocalyptic language about an elected president as normal political discourse.
The chaos at the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting earlier this year was another reminder that political violence is not theoretical. It is a real and growing threat, and it feeds on rhetoric that dehumanizes political opponents.
Upham now sits in a federal detention facility in Jacksonville. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. His congressional campaign is, for all practical purposes, over.
The Marine Corps and Acting Navy Secretary Cao were right to disavow him swiftly. The Secret Service and federal prosecutors acted. That is how the system is supposed to work.
But arrests of public figures after the fact are not the same as preventing the next threat before it materializes. Upham posted his videos publicly, under his real name, on a verified campaign account. He emailed a reporter. He spelled out his intentions in writing. The system caught him, but only after he had already broadcast specific instructions for political assassination to anyone willing to watch.
When someone tells you exactly what they intend to do, the question is not whether to believe them. The question is how long it takes everyone else to start listening.
