MI Man Sentenced To Prison For Online Threats To Kill Trump

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A Grand Rapids man will spend the next two years in prison for threatening to kill the president and vice president of the U.S., according to federal officials.

James Donald Vance Jr., 67, was sentenced Monday to two years after he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill the president and vice president and interstate threatening communications, each of which carry a max of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney in Kalamazoo said the crime was a "grievous conduct" that required a prison sentence to deter others from making similar threats.

Federal officials said Vance, using the alias "Diaperjdv," posted the threatening statements to Bluesky in March and April. He threatened to kill President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and one of Trump’s children.

In one message, Vance said that he did not care whether he was shot by Secret Service or would spend the rest of his life in prison for his actions, federal officials said.

"The advent of the internet gives us all an opportunity to engage in the healthy exchange of ideas that are so important to a democracy," United States Attorney Timothy VerHey said. "But some would rather use this tool to threaten and intimidate, conduct that causes fear and damages our democratic ideals. When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished."