A Florida man has been arrested after the Secret Service was notified that he threatened to kill President Joe Biden, authorities said.
Jason Patrick Alday has been arrested and charged with three counts of making threats against the president and federal officials, according to a criminal complaint filed by a Secret Service agent on Monday.
Newsweek reached out to the Secret Service via email for comment.
Secret Service protection for the 2024 presidential candidates has been bolstered in recent days after a sniper attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, two days before he was formally recognized as the Republican nominee.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a White House briefing on Monday that protection for Trump, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have all been amended in the wake of the shooting. Secret Service protection has also been extended to independent candidate Robert F. Kenndy Jr. and enhanced for Trump as he attends the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
The Monday affidavit filed in Tallahassee states that the federal agency was notified about Alday on June 25 after the man told his health care provider at a mental health facility, "I don't like President Biden. I want to kill him, slit his throat."
When questioned by authorities on July 1, Alday denied making those statements. He grew agitated by the line of questioning and at one point stated he did not like the president. The Secret Service asked if he had ever made plans to travel to Washington, D.C., to which Alday said he did not recall saying he wanted to travel anywhere.
But Secret Service agents later discovered social media posts that Alday posted on X, formerly Twitter, in June and July, which threatened both Biden and the special agent who showed up to his house alongside deputies from the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office. They included posts like, "I'll kill joe biden today!!" and "sources: joe biden's health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?"
A detention hearing memo filed Monday shows that Alday had self admitted to the Apalachee Center in Tallahassee and that he resides with his parents in Florida.
His mother told prosecutors that he has lived with her "off and on his whole life" and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder and ADHD. She also testified that Alday was taking a mood stabilizer, antidepressants and anti-psychosis medication. His mother said he does not own a firearm and that she does not think he has any way to carry out the threats he made.
But prosecutors argued that even the most restrictive home conditions would not be enough in this case given Alday's history of threatening law enforcement. They also argued that Alday would have access to knives and a vehicle at his mother's residence.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Stampelos granted custody to the Department of Justice, finding that Alday "is a danger to the community and no conditions can be imposed to reasonably ensure the safety of the community."
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Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
