Ohio man charged with threatening to kill US Vice President JD Vance
A 33-year-old man from Toledo, Ohio, has been charged by a federal grand jury for threatening to kill United States Vice President JD Vance during a visit to northwest Ohio in January, the U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed. The indictment against Shannon Mathre accuses him of making a direct threat to take the life of the vice president and inflict bodily harm, actions that carry serious federal penalties under U.S. law.
According to the Justice Department’s statement, the alleged threat included a claim by Mathre that he intended to “find out where [the vice president] is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.” The threat was made public as federal law enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Secret Service, opened an investigation that culminated in his arrest on February 6, 2026. Mathre was taken into custody by Secret Service agents and made his first court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Ohio. He remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 11, 2026.
In the course of the investigation into the alleged threat, authorities also discovered multiple digital files of child sexual abuse material in Mathre’s possession, leading to additional federal charges related to the receipt and distribution of such material. If convicted, Mathre faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the threat against the vice president. The child sexual abuse materials charge could carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a similar fine.
U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer emphasised that violent threats against elected officials or their families will not be tolerated, and that the Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting such cases aggressively. The investigation was handled collaboratively by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, with the Secret Service leading the security inquiry.
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