BURSTAn Indiana woman accused of posting threatening messages about President Trump on social media is facing federal criminal charges after prosecutors say she admitted to Secret Service officers that she was set on "killing" Trump to "avenge" lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nathalie Rose Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Ind., was arrested during a protest event in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and faces charges of threats against the president, as well as transmitting threats across state lines, court documents show.
Jones was already on the Secret Service's radar because of a series of posts she had made on Instagram and Facebook before she was interviewed and arrested in D.C., according to court records.
In one Facebook post dated Aug. 6 and included in the court filing, Jones allegedly wrote, "literally told FBI in five states today that I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea."
According to a court filing, Jones agreed to speak with law enforcement Friday about the messages she had posted online. Authorities said she told them that she believed Trump was a "terrorist" and "Nazi," who she would kill at "the compound" if necessary. Jones also allegedly told officers that she had access to a "bladed object" to use to "carry out her mission of killing" the president in retaliation for the pandemic death toll, which she attributed to Trump and his previous administration.
Jones was tracked down in the District of Columbia the following day and confirmed her previous statements but said she no longer wanted to harm the president, records show.
"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."
Trump has faced multiple assassination threats, and he survived a shooting during a campaign rally in July 2024 when a bullet grazed his ear.
The Hill's sister station NewsNation interviewed Jones during a protest in D.C. before her arrest Saturday. She told the station that she believed Trump's policies cost lives by undermining vaccines and health care needs of the vulnerable.
"This regime has to go, the whole administration," she said.
She also addressed Trump's recent federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployment of D.C.'s National Guard to address crime.
"You do not deploy the military against the American people," Jones told NewsNation. "We will not be suppressed. We will not exist in this authoritarian regime. We will not accept fascism."