An 18-year-old Tewksbury, Massachusetts, teenager has been charged with threatening to kill President Donald Trump, drawing swift intervention from federal authorities. Trenton Touch, who remains in state custody, is accused of operating four separate Instagram accounts that featured violent, threatening content directed at the president and references to potential mass violence.
The investigation began after authorities received information regarding the social media accounts on Sept. 10, according to charging documents. Federal agents allege that the digital trail left by Touch included a June 21 post featuring a photograph of a firearm accompanied by the text, “I’m gonna kill Trump.” The message further stated, “not yet unc I suck at shooting past 200 yards.”
🚨#BREAKING: An #FBI Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation with @TewksburyPD has led to Trenton Touch, of Tewksbury, MA, being charged with allegedly threatening to kill the President of the United States. Touch also allegedly threatened to commit a school shooting.… pic.twitter.com/gHRMUkWKzv
Evidence of Potential Threat and Weaponry
Beyond the threats directed at the President, investigators identified content on the accounts that allegedly threatened a school shooting. Authorities reported that Touch frequently referenced the 2019 Christchurch shootings in New Zealand—an attack that claimed 51 lives—and labeled perpetrators of mass shootings as “heroes.”
A search of the teenager’s residence by the FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force yielded a cache of items that officials argue demonstrate a capacity for violence. Agents recovered a revolver-style firearm, military-style knives, a hatchet, a ballistics helmet, and camouflage clothing. The discovery of these items led law enforcement to conclude that the suspect possessed the practical means to carry out his stated intent.
“Trenton Touch is an alleged white supremacist who now stands accused of threatening to kill the President,” said Ted E. Docks, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “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.”
Touch Faces Federal Court Appearance over Presidential Threat
Touch currently faces a criminal complaint for making a threat against the president. Under federal law, a conviction on this charge carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
While the federal investigation continues to unfold, it is important to note that the charges against Touch are allegations that have not yet been proven in a court of law. As with all criminal defendants in the United States, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Touch is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Boston on Nov. 9.
