Overview
- Trent Schneider, 57, of Winthrop Harbor, was arrested and charged via federal complaint with making a threat in interstate commerce, a felony carrying a maximum five-year sentence if convicted.
- Prosecutors say he posted a selfie-style Instagram video on Oct. 16 stating he would get guns and that President Trump "should be executed," and reposted it about 18 times along with a separate image shared roughly 20 times.
- Several posts were tagged to Trump Tower in Chicago, and a concerned viewer in Florida reported the video to authorities, triggering the investigation.
- Agents visited Schneider’s home on Oct. 22, observed cameras on tripods, and say he later posted footage of them leaving; investigators linked the account to him through subscriber records and facial comparison and sought warrants for devices and Meta accounts.
- He was taken into custody without incident with Lake County Sheriff’s SWAT assistance, appeared before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert, and remains detained as prosecutors cite prior threats, a 2022 arrest with a 2023 unfitness finding, and foreclosure pressures noted in his posts.