Michigan man sentenced to federal prison for online threats against Trump, JD Vance
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids, Mich. man will spend the next two years in federal prison for threatening to kill President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on social media, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan.
An investigation into James Donald Vance Jr., 67, began earlier in 2025 when Vance, using the alias “Diaperjdv,” posted threatening messages on Bluesky in March and April.
The 67-year-old was accused of posting April 1, “If tRump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag. I will either be shot by a secret service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I’ve only got about 10 years of life left anyway so I don’t f*****g care either way.”
He was also accused of threatening Donald Trump Jr. in a March 7 post titled “Donald Trump Jr. Considering a Run for President in 2028.”
According to documents, federal investigators accused Vance Jr. of posting, “I will murder that stupid f***er before he gets secret service protection.”
Vance Jr. pleaded not guilty to all three charges, which carried a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, in June. He was given a personal recognizance bond at the time, documents detailed.
“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,” U.S. 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.”
Monday marks the second time in a month that someone has been sentenced for threatening to kill the president, according to officials.
Richard James Spring of Comstock Park, Mich. was sentenced Oct. 20 to spend 18 months behind bars and pay $2,000 after pleading guilty to threatening the president after committing rape.
Specifically, Spring wrote on X in late January that he’d rape someone in front of the president and would shoot him in the head, according to court documents obtained by News Channel 3.
Similar threats were also posted by Spring on TikTok, though he additionally told users on that platform “you’re going to watch your god DIE,” records detailed.
Along with his prison term and fine, it was recommended that Spring receives mental health and anger management counseling, as well as substance abuse programming during his prison term, according to documents.
Both cases were investigated by the Grand Rapids office of the United States Secret Service.