A Texas man is going to prison for threatening President Donald Trump’s life, Fox News reported Monday.
Mickael Gedlu, 36, was reportedly sentenced to 18 months in federal custody during a court appearance on Friday. The hearing was conducted via video because of concerns about COVID-19, according to Fox.
“That’s his problem”
Last week’s hearing came after Gedlu pleaded guilty in December to charges that he made multiple online threats against Trump over a six-month period in 2018 and 2019.
“For 20 straight months now, openly and publicly, I have been calling for President Trump’s death,” he wrote in one Facebook post, according to The Dallas Morning News.
On another occasion, Gedlu posted a comment on YouTube in which he claimed to be “waiting for Trump to visit Dallas” before making an “attempt to assassinate him,” Fox reported.
Dallas police reportedly detained Gedlu near the site of a Trump fundraiser he was scheduled to attend on May 31, 2018. Records indicate he was seen carrying a sign that read “Kill Trump” and heard calling for someone to “kill the president,” according to the Morning News.
Gedlu has been identified as a military veteran, and his social media profile includes apparent images of him dressed in uniform, but Fox News reported that it was unable to verify his status.
According to Gedlu’s father, mental health issues are at the root of his behavior. “That’s his problem,” Gizaw Gedlu said, according to Fox. “He talks too much, simply. Doctors give him medicine. Sometimes he’s not taking it.”
Other high-profile threats
For his part, President Trump has been the frequent target of calls for violence, sometimes by celebrities. A 2017 music video by rapper Snoop Dogg showed an actor dressed as the president being held at gunpoint, Fox noted at the time.
The same year, comedian Kathy Griffin posed with a theatrical prop depicting Trump’s severed head, according to Fox. Griffin apologized for the image but later retracted her apology, the Washington Examiner noted.
Trump supporters have also been targets of violence and intimidation. Security cameras near the venue of a Minnesota rally last fall reportedly revealed attendees being assaulted as they exited.
Despite partisan rhetoric that seeks to depict conservatives as close-minded and intolerant, the Trump administration has proven there are plenty of people on the left who publicly and unapologetically display those very same characteristics. What a shame.
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