A federal grand jury has indicted a Butler County man already in custody on charges of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump and other federal officials.
Shawn Monper, 32, of Butler Township was arrested last month and accused of posting threats to YouTube under the name “Mr Satan” between Jan. 15 and April 5.
The grand jury accused Monper of threatening to kill not only Trump but also billionaire Elon Musk, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the heads of numerous federal departments.
On April 1, according to the indictment, Monper posted a comment to a YouTube video discussing Trump that said, “When are we going to stand up and kill these people?”
Four days later, investigators said, Monper posted, “That’s why Trump needs to die.”
The eight-count indictment was announced Friday by federal prosecutors.
Authorities seized three handguns when they arrested Monper on April 9. They said he had a concealed carry permit.
Monper claimed in court paperwork the permit was to carry his guns to a shooting range.
A federal judge last month ordered Monper to be detained pending trial.
In arguing for Monper to be released on home detention or electronic monitoring, his lawyer said her client was a law-abiding person with no criminal record.
Kathryn Dyer, an assistant federal public defender, claimed that while Monper was accused of serious charges, he did not try to communicate any threats directly to U.S. officials.
“The entirety of the government’s criminal allegations are — in a sea of thousands of other comments — posted on videos on an internet site…” Dyer wrote in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
Dyer characterized the YouTube comments as “shouting into the void.”
She said his YouTube account had no more than three followers, he did not upload original content and there were no allegations Monper planned or tried to carry out any threats.
“There is simply no reason to believe that Mr. Monper desired his alleged comments to be communicated to anyone within the orbit of President Trump or the other referenced officials — let alone to influence or retaliate against those officials for the performance of their official duties,” Dyer wrote.
But U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly was not swayed by those arguments and ordered Monper to be held.
Monper’s lawyer said he bowls and plays Dungeons and Dragons and video games when he is not working a 4 a.m.-1 p.m. shift at Walmart “ensuring the residents of Butler have access to well-stocked, fresh meat and produce.”
Monper graduated from Butler Senior High School and has spent his life in the area, according to his lawyer.