PHOENIX — An Arizona man was convicted by a federal jury on Monday for threatening to kill President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Rene Ortiz, 56, of Casa Grande, was found guilty of two felony violations for making threats against successors to the presidency and one felony violation of threats against former presidents.
On November 5, 2024, Ortiz delivered a written threat to the federal courthouse in Phoenix, saying he would “execute the newly elected [President of the United States] by firing an M-16A2 service rifle with a magazine of 6 rounds,” directed at both candidates.
Then, on November 25, 2025, Ortiz sent a second threat to shoot “the incoming fraudulent elected [President of the United States] … at the inauguration on January 20th, 2025,” to a federal courthouse in Tucson. When interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service about the threats, Ortiz repeated his intent to make the threats; he was subsequently arrested on Jan. 17, 2025, ahead of the Presidential Inauguration.
“The message in this case is clear: The American people will not stand for threats of political violence against President Trump or any other elected official,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “A jury of Mr. Ortiz’s peers unanimously agreed that his threats were egregious violations of the law and rendered a just verdict. Once again, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Secret Service proved their excellent skills and duty in protecting our elected officials.”
Ortiz's sentencing is scheduled for September 1.
