Federal prosecutors have now reportedly charged an Indiana woman with making violent threats against President Donald J. Trump, after she admitted to law enforcement that she had been intent on “killing” him in what she described as an act of vengeance for lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The woman, identified as Nathalie Rose Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Ind., was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Saturday while attending a protest. She now faces multiple counts, including threats against the president and transmitting threats across state lines, according to court filings.
Jones had already been on the radar of the Secret Service due to a series of social media posts that prosecutors said contained explicit threats. One post, dated Aug. 6 and included in the court record, left little ambiguity. “Literally told FBI in five states today that I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea,” Jones allegedly wrote on Facebook.
Authorities said Jones agreed to meet with investigators last Friday, at which point she acknowledged the postings and elaborated on her intent.
She referred to Trump as a “terrorist” and “Nazi,” and told officers she would kill him “at the compound” if necessary, according to court documents.
She further claimed she had access to a “bladed object” to carry out what she called her “mission” to kill the president in retaliation for the pandemic death toll, which she attributed to Trump and his administration.
The following day, Jones was located in the nation’s capital and again confirmed the statements, though she claimed she no longer wished to act on them, prosecutors said.
“Threatening the life of the President is one of the most serious crimes and one that will be met with swift and unwavering prosecution,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a news release. “Make no mistake — justice will be served.”
Even as she was under scrutiny, Jones gave interviews to media outlets covering the protest. Speaking to NewsNation before her arrest, she accused Trump of costing lives through his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly by “undermining vaccines and health care needs of the vulnerable.”
“This regime has to go, the whole administration,” she told the network.
She also criticized Trump’s recent decision to assert federal control over Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and deploy the National Guard in response to persistent violent crime in the city. “You do not deploy the military against the American people,” she declared. “We will not be suppressed. We will not exist in this authoritarian regime. We will not accept fascism.”
The case underscores both the heightened passions of Trump’s critics and the dangers posed when political rhetoric escalates into violent threats.
For conservatives, the charges highlight what they see as a double standard: threats against Trump are often downplayed in the press, even as the Justice Department has pursued aggressive prosecutions against his supporters.
Now, Jones is facing what prosecutors vow will be “swift and unwavering” justice — a signal, they argue, that no political disagreement justifies violence.
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