A New Mexico man who threatened President Donald Trump’s life on several social media platforms was sentenced to over 10 months in prison on Wednesday.
Days after the president’s inauguration in January, Albuquerque man Tyles Miles Leveque, 37, was indicted for making threatening posts between Jan. 2 and Jan. 4 targeting Trump.
“First, in a TikTok video posted on January 2, 2025, Leveque made statements indicating his disdain for several people and groups of people,” according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
“Leveque stated these people should be ‘f–king scared,’ that Leveque didn’t care if he died, and his willingness to die is what should frighten them the most. Leveque ended the video with the taunt ‘Run, run,'” the press release continues.
Albuquerque Man Sentenced for Threats Against Presidenthttps://t.co/kg7a1MdocE pic.twitter.com/HoqerOmco3
— FBI Albuquerque (@FBIAlbuquerque) December 3, 2025
On Jan. 3, Leveque published posts to X directly threatening the president.
“@realDonaldTrump I 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,” he wrote in one post.
And on Jan. 4, he published a post to Facebook detailing his vision of what he sought.
“Just bought my first gun bitches!” he wrote. “Hey world hey America hey trump hey ceos get rich we are hunting you down! Hahaha I’m getting ready myself! Here we come it ends now.”
When questioned by the Secret Service and FBI on Jan. 6, Leveque defended his posts, citing his First Amendment rights.
But according to the DOJ’s presser, law enforcement reminded the suspect that “his posts had crossed the line into threats, which are not protected under the First Amendment.”
“Leveque will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled,” federal officials told local station KVIA at the time. “If convicted, Leveque faces up to five years in prison.”
Months later, Leveque was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs, a Trump appointee, to “324 days or time served, whichever is less,” in addition to three years of supervised release as per a plea agreement reached in September.
“Between on or January 2, 2025, and January 4, 2025, in Bernalillo County, in the District of New Mexico, I, Tyler Miles Leveque, knowingly posted recordings and messages on social media threatening to kill then President-elect, Donald Trump,” the plea agreement reads, according to Law & Crime.
“I understood the words I wrote, said, and uttered to be true threats, as that term is interpreted under federal law. I wrote, said, and uttered these words knowingly and willfully,” it continues.
The DOJ celebrated his sentencing.
“Threatening violence against public officials is a serious federal offense, and this office will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law,” Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said.
“Today’s 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,” he added.
“The sentencing today reminds all of us that threatening violence is not protected speech and the United States Secret Service will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue prosecution on all threats against our protectees and elected public officials,” Secret Service official Ron Emmot likewise said.
“The FBI wants to remind the public that we uphold and support every individual’s constitutional right to free speech,” FBI special agent Justin A. Garris said. “Free speech protects ideas and debates, but it does not and will never protect violence.”
“Threatening speech that is directed toward a specific person or a group of people, whether you believe it to be anonymous or harmless, will be investigated by federal agents and we will hold them accountable,” he concluded.
By the time Leveque issued his threats, then-President-elect Trump had already survived two assassination attempts, including one on July 13, 2024, by Thomas Matthew Crooks, and another on Sept. 15, 2024, by Ryan Wesley Routh.
Crooks was killed during his assassination attempt. Routh, meanwhile, was arrested while lying in wait and later found guilty this past September of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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