Someone tried to rush the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April and assassinate Trump administration officials.
Now a Republican congressional candidate just told a newspaper reporter he will personally take out the president.
And the man who wrote those words is still on the Florida ballot.
He Said the Quiet Part to a Reporter
William Upham, 35, is a former U.S. Marine and write-in candidate for Florida's 5th Congressional District.
On July 13, he posted videos to Instagram wearing his Marine Corps uniform – the same uniform the Corps told him he could no longer wear after medically discharging him in May 2025.
In those videos, Upham quoted the Book of Revelation, declared Trump "the Antichrist," called on God's children to overthrow the administration, and then gave his audience a military combat tutorial.
https://twitter.com/uphamforflorida/status/2076829011548717242?s=20
He recommended AR-15 rifles.
He described armor-piercing ammunition.
He walked through Marine Corps assault techniques – how to move in pairs, how to clear a corner, how to close on a target – while narrating exactly how to kill an enemy.
"Two shots to the chest. One to the head," he said.
Then a Florida newspaper reporter reached out for comment.
Most people in Upham's position would have said nothing, or let a lawyer speak.
Upham emailed back: "I will kill President Trump at the time that God chooses, not when I choose."
He added: "Our country must overthrow President Trump by the violent use of force and kill him."
Federal agents arrested him two days later.
This Is Not an Isolated Case
The Secret Service didn't just stumble onto Upham's videos.
An anonymous tipster called it in first.
Then a Department of Veterans Affairs representative contacted investigators – relaying concerns from a third party who said Upham had recently been placed on a psychiatric hold before posting the videos.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputies had already visited his residence on July 5 – ten days before the arrest – after a welfare check.
During that visit, Upham told deputies he was the Messiah and that God had ordered him to die.
Deputies went back to his address on July 14 and confirmed he was still there.
He had purchased two firearms from a Virginia pawn shop in June 2024.
Here's the pattern you need to understand: this is not a one-time incident.
Since Trump returned to office, a Democrat Senate candidate in Pennsylvania was arrested for calling a congressman and ordering him to walk into the Oval Office with a firearm.
A Massachusetts man was indicted on eight counts for Facebook posts promising Trump would be "dead by 2026."
A Rochester man was charged this month for threatening to kill Trump Jr. during his live podcast – and a judge let him walk on non-monetary conditions anyway.
An Oregon man convicted of Trump threats last year called his probation officer from halfway house and made new threats – and got released again.
At least ten arrests for threats against Trump have been logged in just the past few months.
The Left Built This
Upham presents as mentally unstable – the Messiah claim, the psychiatric hold, the welfare check where he told deputies God had ordered him to die.
But a man radicalized enough to post combat tutorials in uniform, to email a death threat to a reporter by name, to frame presidential assassination as a holy war – that man has been fed a narrative.
Kamala Harris sat across from Anderson Cooper on CNN and said "Yes, I do" when asked if Trump is a fascist.
Chuck Schumer called on his supporters to "be forcefully rising up against" the president.
Hakeem Jeffries declared Democrats are in "an era of maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time."
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2077840417391890571?s=20
When the man who tried to rush the Correspondents' Dinner left a manifesto behind, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was "indistinguishable from the words we hear daily from their party."
She was right.
You tell enough unstable people that the president is a fascist, a dictator, and an existential threat to democracy – and eventually one of them picks up a rifle and decides to do something about it.
Upham didn't invent the holy war framework.
Harris, Schumer, and Jeffries handed it to him.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao put it plainly: "William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos."
Now someone needs to draw that same line around the politicians who keep pulling the trigger.
Sources:
- Kennedy Owens, "Florida congressional candidate charged with threatening to kill Trump," New York Post, July 17, 2026.
- "Former Marine and congressional candidate charged with threatening to kill President Trump," Action News Jax, July 17, 2026.
- "Marine veteran on GOP ballot for House seat charged over social media threats to kill Trump," Stars and Stripes, July 17, 2026.
- "Florida write-in congressional candidate William Upham arrested after saying Trump 'must be killed'," Fox News Digital, July 17, 2026.
- "WATCH: Far Lefties Off The Rails: At Least TEN Recent Arrests / Convictions For Alleged Threats Against President Trump," CDM Press, July 18, 2026.
- "Democrats' Unhinged Rhetoric Incites Third Assassination Attempt on President Trump," WhiteHouse.gov, April 28, 2026.
