A 32-year-old man from Butler, Pennsylvania, has been charged with making violent threats against former President Donald Trump, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Shawn Monper was arrested on April 9 by FBI agents with assistance from the Butler Township Police Department.
Monper is accused of using the alias “Mr Satan” on YouTube to post a series of threatening comments between January 15 and April 5, 2025. The FBI’s National Threat Operations Section received an emergency disclosure from the platform after detecting the threats. A federal criminal complaint alleges that Monper posted messages advocating violence and referencing firearms, including one in which he stated, “Eventually I’m going to do a mass shooting.” In another message, Monper reportedly wrote that he had been “buying one gun a month since the election, body armor, and ammo.”
One of the more alarming comments, dated February 17, 2025, called for the assassination of President Trump, Elon Musk, and others: “Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon, all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way.” Additional comments from March and April expressed intent to target ICE agents, referring to them as “terrorists” and stating he would “open fire” if he saw an armed agent.
The DOJ further revealed that Monper had obtained a firearms permit shortly after Trump’s inauguration and made several references to accumulating weapons and ammunition.
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the efforts of federal and local law enforcement, stating, “Thankfully, this individual was apprehended before he could act on these threats against President Trump’s life and the lives of other innocent Americans.”
Monper has been charged with four counts of intimidation, each classified as a Level 6 felony. He is being held in custody pending a preliminary and detention hearing scheduled for April 14. The DOJ affirmed that it will pursue the case vigorously, stating it will “seek the maximum appropriate punishment.”
