Centre County man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Donald Trump, his supporters
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- Jacob Buckley pleaded guilty to making online threats against Donald Trump.
- Federal prosecutors cited TikTok posts where Buckley threatened Trump and MAGA supporters.
- A federal judge released Buckley pending mental health treatment and weapon ban.
A Centre County man pleaded guilty Monday to threatening to kill Donald Trump and his supporters on social media days before Trump took office for his second term as president.
Jacob Buckley, 22, of Port Matilda, pleaded guilty to a felony count of making threats against the then president-elect. A message left Monday with defense lawyer Arthur P. Fritzinger was not immediately returned.
U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann did not yet schedule a date for Buckley’s sentencing. He released Buckley pending his continuation of mental health treatment. Buckley is also prohibited from possessing weapons or non-prescribed drugs.
Responding to a TikTok livestream four days before Trump was inaugurated, federal prosecutors said Buckley wrote “I hate MAGA republicans bro on god I’ll kill all of them.” MAGA is short for the 2016 Trump campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Prosecutors said he threatened to kill Trump twice, including one post that said “Bro we going into a literal oligarchy in 4 days and im going to kill Trump.”
TikTok is a video service popular with teens and young adults. After a cursory search Monday, it appears Buckley’s account is no longer on the platform. The case was investigated by the Secret Service.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM.