A 37-year-old Rhode Island man has been arrested and charged after allegedly threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and other high-ranking government officials on the president’s own social media platform, Truth Social.
Carl D. Montague was taken into custody on Wednesday morning and now faces federal charges including threats against the President, interstate threats, and threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a federal official, according to court filings.
The investigation began after Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group, alerted the U.S. Secret Service on June 27 to a violent message posted by a user with the handle “@tacoustic.” The post named Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, threatening to shoot each of them.
The graphic and expletive-laced message read in part:
“It’s a shame you won’t get to see the end of your f—ing term, because I’m gonna make sure I put a bullet right between your f—ing head… Pam Bondi. Stephen f—ing Miller. All you b—es are gonna get a f—ing bullet to the head. Every single f—ing one of you.”
Investigators quickly traced the account to a Gmail address based in Providence and worked with Google to obtain the associated IP address. Further investigation led agents to an apartment complex on Plainfield Street, where residents identified Montague as a friend of a tenant named Joe. Although Montague had reportedly not lived there for years, authorities believed he might be staying there again.
When agents returned the next day, building management helped conduct a routine apartment check. Montague was discovered hiding in the bathtub.
Before agents could fully introduce themselves or explain the situation, Montague reportedly began confessing to the threats. According to the affidavit, he said he had been “smoking a lot of marijuana” when he posted the message and deleted his Truth Social account shortly afterward.
Montague said he was frustrated with the state of politics and randomly included Bondi and Miller after seeing their names mentioned in other posts. He admitted he couldn’t even identify Bondi and denied having any actual plans to carry out violence. He also stated he did not own firearms or have the means to travel.
He made his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
The apartment where Montague was found is linked to a non-profit organization that supports individuals transitioning back into society after incarceration.
