TEWKSBURY, MA — A Tewksbury teen has been charged with threatening President Donald Trump, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney.
He also faces state gun charges following an investigation involving threats against schools.
Related: Teen Faces Several Gun Charges In Tewksbury, Police Say
Trenton Touch, 18, is in state custody and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday. He was charged with making a threat against the President of the United States.
According to prosecutors, law enforcement received information about four Instagram accounts Sept. 10. The accounts contained violent and threatening content, including a threat against the president. Touch is the alleged user of all four accounts.
Records show that Touch made multiple communications where he threatened to kill others, including threats to shoot up a school and "kill trump," prosecutors said.
Touch is also accused of posting an image of a gun in an Instagram direct message along with a threat in June.
Touch also made frequent references to mass shooters, especially those who attacked based on "racially motivated violent extremism," referring to the mass shooters as "heroes" and frequently referencing the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand that killed 51 people, according to prosecutors.
Investigators searched his home and said they seized a revolver-style firearm, multiple military-style or military surplus items including camouflage clothing, a ballistics helmet, military-style knives and a hatchet.
"Trenton Touch is an alleged white supremacist who now stands accused of threatening to kill the President," Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division Ted E. Docks said in a statement. "Based on the evidence recovered by FBI Boston's Joint Terrorism Task Force – including a firearm, military-style knives, a hatchet, and a ballistics helmet – he allegedly had the means to do it. There's no question Mr. Touch posed a grave threat to public safety."
The charge of making a threat against the president has a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Touch was arrested on Grasshopper Lane in Tewksbury, police said.
"I'm grateful for the work of the FBI and our Tewksbury detectives," Police Chief Ryan Columbus said in a statement. "They took these leads seriously, and their work may have prevented a mass casualty incident and saved lives. It's unsettling to know that something like this could have happened in our town. It's also a reminder of why our partnership with the FBI is so important to keeping our community safe."
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