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A man who was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance was also found with child sexual abuse materials, according to the Justice Department (DOJ).
Shannon Mathre, 33, of Toledo, Ohio, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of threatening to kill Vance during the vice president’s visit to Northwest Ohio in January, the DOJ said.
Mathre is accused of saying, “I am going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.” The DOJ did not give specific details about when or where the threat was made. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release that, “You can hide behind a screen, but you cannot hide from this Department of Justice,” suggesting the threat could have been made online.
“Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance,” Bondi said.
SECRET SERVICE AWARE OF UMASS LOWELL-FUNDED RADIO DJ’S DIRECTIVE TO ‘KILL JD VANCE’
Vice President JD Vance delivers remarks at Royalston Square in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 22, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
The U.S. Secret Service arrested Mathre on Feb. 6. A federal grand jury has since returned an indictment charging Mathre with making the threat against Vance.
While investigating the threats, federal agents found “multiple digital files of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM)” in Mathre’s possession, according to prosecutors. Subsequently, the grand jury also charged that “from about Dec. 31, 2025, to Jan. 21, 2026,” Mathre engaged in the receipt and distribution of CSAM.
Vice President JD Vance speaks with Breitbart News Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Nov. 20, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
CALIFORNIA MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY MAKING ONLINE DEATH THREATS AGAINST JD VANCE DURING DISNEYLAND VISIT
“While arresting this man for allegedly threatening to murder the Vice President…
