A Kansas man allegedly threatened to shoot President Donald Trump — and claimed he had already mapped nearby rooftops — before authorities arrested him ahead of Monday evening’s campaign rally outside Wichita.
Jaden J. Read, 24, of Clearwater, was arrested Saturday, Oct. 17, and charged by federal criminal complaint with making threats against the president, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas.
The arrest came just two days before Trump’s planned appearance at Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City to campaign for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall. The stop was part of the president’s push to rally Republican voters ahead of November’s midterm elections, KMUW reported.
A Tip Exposes Alleged Threats
Investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip Oct. 15 directing them to threatening Facebook comments beneath a KAKE News article about Trump’s upcoming visit.
According to prosecutors, Read called for someone to shoot Trump, then posted another comment claiming he had ammunition and intended to kill the president.
Authorities subsequently identified two more alleged threats beneath a separate report from KWCH 12 News. In those comments, prosecutors said, Read volunteered to carry out a shooting and claimed to know where Trump would speak.
“Already mapped out roofs around,” he allegedly wrote.
KWCH reported that Read was taken into federal custody pending a detention hearing.
“Political violence and threats of political violence will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser said in the Justice Department announcement.
Threats Surge As Campaigns Intensify
The Kansas case comes as the Secret Service confronts a sharp increase in threats against the people it protects.
In an Oct. 11 interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, covered by Mediaite, Secret Service Director Sean Curran said threats involving full-time protectees had increased by more than 40% compared with last year. He reported roughly 10,000 threat cases since January.
That increase covers the agency’s full-time protectees, rather than Trump alone.
“The world is different than what it was 20 years ago,” Curran told CBS. “You know, social media changes people.”
The warning extends beyond presidential security. U.S. Capitol Police reported investigating 14,938 concerning statements, behaviors and communications involving members of Congress, their families, staff and the Capitol complex in 2025 — the third consecutive annual increase. Those assessments encompass a broader category than prosecutable threats.
With candidates making their final appeals to voters, the Kansas arrest puts another alleged threat against the president at the center of an already tense campaign season.
