A Kansas man is facing federal charges after prosecutors said he posted threatening comments on Facebook before President Donald Trump’s planned visit to the state. The comments appeared beneath news articles published by local television stations, as reported [1] by News Nation.
Federal authorities identified the man as Jaden Read, 24, of Clearwater, Kansas. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the case Monday and said a Crime Stoppers tip directed authorities to the Facebook posts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the first comments appeared on an article from a Wichita television station. The article concerned Trump’s visit to Kansas, and Read allegedly responded with explicit references to shooting the president.
A Kansas man has been ARRESTED and federally charged after allegedly threatening to ASSASSINATE President Trump ahead of his rally in Wichita.
24-year-old Jaden J. Read allegedly posted multiple threats on Facebook, including:
“Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter?”
“Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself.”
The left is the party of violence.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 19, 2026 [2]
Prosecutors allege Read wrote, “Let’s shoot Trump honestly, where’s our shooter? I’m tired of living this money life,” beneath the station’s article. Authorities said he later added another comment containing a direct statement about killing Trump.
That second comment allegedly stated, “I just got a 308 and 305 round and I’m killing this pedo.” Prosecutors included both alleged statements in describing the comments that brought Read to the attention of federal authorities.
The allegations were not limited to one television station’s Facebook page. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Read also posted two comments beneath an article from another local station about the president’s visit.
In one of those comments, Read allegedly wrote, “Can we shoot him in Kansas please I will myself” Prosecutors said another comment claimed knowledge of where Trump would speak and referred to roofs in the surrounding area.
That post allegedly read, “IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around. Finna get kirked since yall couldn’t help him.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office presented the statement as part of the alleged threats surrounding Trump’s Kansas appearance.
The word “Kirked” referred to the 2025 fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah, according to the source article. That reference appeared in the same alleged comment discussing the location of Trump’s speech and nearby roofs.
Federal prosecutors say a 24-year-old Clearwater, Kansas man is charged with threatening President Trump before tonight’s Wichita rally. The DOJ says Jaden Read wrote on Facebook he had “mapped out roofs” near the speech site. He was arrested Saturday after a Crime Stoppers tip. https://t.co/XIxpXQf6kh
— Daily Beltway (@DailyBeltway) October 19, 2026 [3]
Authorities took Read into custody Saturday in Clearwater, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He remained in federal custody pending a detention hearing, though the announcement did not provide a date for that proceeding.
The federal case follows the Crime Stoppers tip that alerted authorities to the comments. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not describe the tipster or provide additional details about how investigators reviewed the Facebook posts.
The announcement also did not identify the two local television stations by name. It described one as a Wichita television station and the other as another local station that had published an article concerning the president’s visit.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Kriegshauser directly addressed threats and political violence while announcing the case. His statement drew a line between constitutionally protected disagreement and speech that falls outside those protections.
“Political violence and threats of political violence will not be tolerated,” Kriegshauser said in a news release.
“The First Amendment allows for robust disagreement, but there are constraints. I caution people to stay within the bounds of constitutionally protected speech.”
The four alleged comments form the central basis of the account released by federal prosecutors. Two appeared beneath one station’s article, while two more were allegedly posted beneath another local station’s coverage of Trump’s trip.
Each alleged statement included either a reference to shooting Trump, killing him, carrying out the act personally, or mapping roofs near the speech location. One also invoked Kirk’s fatal shooting in Utah.
Read faces federal charges and remains in custody as he awaits a detention hearing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not provide further information in the source article about the hearing schedule or subsequent court proceedings.