A Michigan man was sentenced to two years in federal prison after admitting he posted online threats to kill President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on a social media platform.
And here's the rub: The defendant shares a moniker with the vice president. Federal prosecutors announced the sentence for 67-year-old James Donald Vance Jr., -- who goes by JD Vance -- after he pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts tied to the threats.
According to the Department of Justice, Vance admitted to making the posts across state lines, triggering federal jurisdiction.
Per prosecutors in March and April 2025, defendant JD Vance, using the alias “Diaperjdv,” posted several threats on the social media service Bluesky in which he made specific threats to kill four people, including Trump and Vance. In one message, he wrote that he did not care whether he was shot by Secret Service or spent the rest of his life in prison for his actions.
He pleaded guilty to two felony offenses: threatening to kill or injure the President and Vice President and interstate threatening communications. Each violation carries a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
After completing his prison term, he will also be subject to supervised release under federal monitoring.
The Justice Department said Vance was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who described the crime as “grievous conduct” that required a prison sentence to deter others from making similar threats.
The court in western Michigan also noted this is the second time in a month that a defendant has been sentenced for threatening to kill the President. On October 20, 2025, Richard James Spring of Comstock Park was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $2,000 by U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering in Grand Rapids. Spring pled guilty to threatening to kill President Trump after committing a rape.