An Illinois man is in serious trouble with federal authorities after he repeatedly posted videos online saying President Donald Trump should be executed. Trent Schneider, who is 57 years old and lives in Winthrop Harbor, now faces charges for making threats against public officials across state lines. The criminal complaint against him was filed at the end of October and made public on Monday.
According to Fox News, Schneider started posting angry and violent videos on Instagram while his house was heading toward foreclosure. Prosecutors say Schneider shared the same threatening video almost 20 times over the next few days, and he often tagged Trump Tower Chicago when he posted it. Every single time, he wrote the same message saying his house was going to be auctioned off on November 4, 2025, and that Trump should be executed.
But what really stands out is what happened when Secret Service agents came to his house to ask him questions. Schneider walked outside and started screaming at the officers to leave his property. After they left, he filmed them walking away and posted that video online with the exact same message calling for Trump’s death.
He has been in trouble for this kind of thing before
This is far from the first time Schneider has gotten into hot water over threatening posts. Back in 2022, federal agents talked to him about violent things he posted on social media about public officials. A few months after that, police arrested him because he supposedly threatened to shoot up a T-Mobile store. When his case went to court in 2023, a judge decided he was not mentally fit to go through a trial.
The documents from prosecutors show that Schneider seemed really angry about losing his house, which was set to be sold at auction on November 4. In all his posts, he kept saying he was losing everything and he blamed politicians and people in the legal system for ruining his life financially.
He called these people frauds over and over again. This case is just one example of ongoing tensions between Trump and various people across the country who have strong feelings about the president.
Someone in Florida happened to see one of Schneider’s threatening videos and decided to report it to the police. That tip is what got the Secret Service looking into him. The agents figured out which Instagram account belonged to him and saw that he was posting threats that anyone in the country could see.
The Secret Service worked with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to go to Schneider’s house with search and arrest warrants. They even brought a SWAT team to help out. According to local outlets, they arrested Schneider without any trouble or violence.
If a judge or jury finds him guilty, he could spend up to five years in federal prison and pay a fine as high as $250,000, based on what the U.S. Department of Justice says. Even though President Trump is busy dealing with all sorts of political issues and international problems, the Secret Service still makes it a priority to track down and arrest anyone who threatens him.
Published: Nov 4, 2025 04:30 pm