The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Monday that Shawn Christy, age 27, of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 10, 2018, for threatening to harm President Donald J. Trump, and law enforcement officers.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that Christy posted the threats on Facebook between June 3 and 12, 2018. It is alleged that Christy posted that he was going to shoot President Trump in the head, and that he was going to use “lethal force” on any law enforcement officer that attempts to detain him as a result of a bench warrant that was issued for him. The indictment alleges that Christy also threatened to injure another person by posting “Your a dead man….Lets play.”
The threat to President Trump is being investigated by the United States Secret Service, and the other threats are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.
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Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for each offense is five years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.