Man Arrested In Florida For Chilling Threats Against Trump
A Florida resident has been taken into custody after the U.S. Secret Service accused him of making online threats against President Donald Trump, including issuing a bizarre challenge to engage in a "nude fight to the death."
Authorities intervened when 42-year-old Kendal Aaron Todd shared a video on his social media page, delivering perplexing rants about the former president and displaying concerning behavior.
“Donald Trump has personally made business decisions which have hurt so many different reincarnated Jesuses. Because of Donald Trump, every single person in the world is cursed. Donald Trump is the Antichrist. Fight me naked to the death! I’m going to cut you up with a chainsaw and put you in acid,” Todd declared in the now-deleted, 80-second clip.
Law enforcement officials in Florida deemed Todd's actions alarming.
“He just kept escalating his behavior. He got the attention obviously of the United States Secret Service, and that got our attention,” said St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro.
According to Del Toro, authorities had been monitoring Todd for over a week due to concerns regarding his mental well-being.
When officers attempted to speak with Todd at his residence, he reportedly became hostile, refused to open the door, and made violent threats.
“No matter what political party you’re on, violence in the political arena is never the right thing. And we’ve had attempts on our president’s life before, and we’re not taking any chances, and so we’re going to investigate those. The full weight of the sheriff’s office was going to investigate that,” Del Toro stated.
As a result, a SWAT team from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside the U.S. Secret Service, took Todd into custody. He is currently being held at the St. Lucie County Jail, facing a charge of Written Threat to Kill or Do Bodily Harm. His bond has been set at $500,000.
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential election cycle.
On July 13, 2024, he was shot and wounded while delivering a speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A second incident unfolded on September 15, 2024, when a man was discovered by the Secret Service hiding in shrubbery with a rifle. The former president was swiftly escorted from his Palm Beach golf course after agents spotted the potential attacker.
Court records from March 11 reveal that the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office petitioned for a risk protection order, seeking judicial authorization to confiscate any firearms in Todd's possession.
The petition cited that Todd had recently engaged in a “recent act or threat of violence against themselves or others” and that he “may be seriously mentally ill or may have recurring mental health issues.”
Deputies also noted a family member had reported Todd exhibited "suicide by cop ideations" and had been placed under Florida's Baker Act in December 2023.
Under the Baker Act, formally known as the Florida Mental Health Act, individuals struggling with mental illness can be held voluntarily or involuntarily in a mental health facility for up to 72 hours if they are deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Following the tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018, Florida enacted the Red Flag Law. This law enables law enforcement to request a judge's permission to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals exhibiting violent warning signs, akin to the Parkland shooter.
On March 11, a judge approved the request against Todd. A hearing regarding the case has been scheduled for March 24.