Michigan Man James Donald Vance Sentenced to Prison for Death Threats Against Trump, VP Vance and Elon Musk

James Donald Vance, Jr., 67, received a two-year federal prison sentence on Monday for making threatening statements online.

A Michigan resident sharing the same initials and middle name as Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump has been sentenced to federal prison after posting death threats. James Donald "JD" Vance Jr., a 67-year-old from Grand Rapids, was convicted of threatening to kill Vice President Vance, President Trump, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

According to Timothy VerHey, US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, District Judge Paul L Maloney issued the sentence, characterizing Vance's actions as "grievous conduct" warranting incarceration to discourage similar threatening behavior from others.

Earlier this year during March and April, Vance used the online pseudonym "Diaperjdv" to publish several threatening messages on Bluesky social media platform where he explicitly threatened to kill the officials.

In an April 1 post, Vance wrote: "If Trump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag. I will either be shot by a Secret Service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I've only got about 10 years of life left anyway, so I don't f*****g care either way."

Beyond targeting these three prominent figures, Vance also threatened the president's eldest son in a March 7 post, stating: "I will murder that stupid f-ker before he gets secret service protection."

Vance pleaded guilty to two felony charges: threatening to kill or injure the president and vice president, and interstate threatening communications. Each offense carries potential penalties of up to five years imprisonment and $250,000 in fines.

US Attorney VerHey emphasized that Vance crossed a significant boundary when threatening national leaders and their families, which led to his prosecution and sentencing.

"The advent of the internet gives us all an opportunity to engage in the healthy exchange of ideas that are so important to a democracy. But some would rather use this tool to threaten and intimidate, conduct that causes fear and damages our democratic ideals. When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished," VerHey stated.

This case is not isolated. Another Michigan resident, Richard James Spring from Comstock Park, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $2,000 in October after pleading guilty to threatening to kill President Trump.