Andrew Emerald was indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of interstate transmission of threatening communications over posts from May to July 2025, according to multiple reports. The indictment alleges he vowed to travel to Mar-a-Lago resort if President Trump did not die by 2026. Emerald was arrested at his home in Great Barrington on Wednesday morning by FBI agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force, multiple reports indicate. He was arrested on Wednesday, according to major media sources. Emerald pleaded not guilty in court and was held without bail, Aftonbladet reports.
Michael Kovco was arrested on April 3 and charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, multiple reports indicate. Federal prosecutors allege he sent chilling threats to assassinate Donald Trump and behead his teenage son in a string of messages to the White House. Kovco is accused of threatening to shoot the president with a ‘high caliber sniper rifle’ and track down Barron Trump in order to kill him, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors are seeking to keep Michael Kovco in custody pending trial, multiple reports indicate.
The FBI found Andrew Emerald from a tip by a citizen, Aftonbladet reports. Michael Kovco sent multiple electronic threats through the official White House website in March, targeting Trump, his family and Secret Service agents, authorities said. The specific evidence beyond the Facebook posts that led to Emerald's arrest has not been disclosed, nor have details emerged about how the FBI or Secret Service initially became aware of the threats from both defendants.
The charge of interstate transmission of threatening communications carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, according to multiple reports. At a press conference, US Attorney Andrew Boutros stated that political violence ‘will be dealt with as the serious federal crime that it is.’ Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Dai Tran added that the agency ‘aggressively’ pursues threats to ensure the safety of those under its protection. The current mental health status or medication compliance of Michael Kovco remains unclear, and it is unknown whether there are any connections or patterns between these two separate threat cases.