Prosecutors ask judge to detain Jupiter man who threatened Trump, Vance before trial

JUPITER — Prosecutors want to keep the 68-year-old Jupiter man who on social media called for the murder of former President Donald Trump and running mate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance in custody until the courts resolve his case.

Michael M. Wiseman's postings on Facebook and a related Threads account "indicate a disregard for the safety of the community" and there are "no conditions of release reasonably sufficient to protect the community from risk of physical harm," the State Attorney's Office argued in court documents filed Saturday, one day after his arrest.

Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe has scheduled a hearing Tuesday morning on the request, which Wiseman's attorney, Tama Beth Kudman of West Palm Beach, said she will oppose. Wiseman remained in the Palm Beach County Jail on Monday, where he is being held without bail.

Wiseman is facing a felony charge of written threats to kill for his postings, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, according to a spokesperson for the State Attorney's Office. Court records indicate no past criminal arrests for Wiseman in Palm Beach County.

Wiseman's first threat appeared online July 17. That day, Vance accepted the Republican Party's nomination for vice president on its ticket with Trump, who won the White House in 2016 but lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

The posting also came four days after a would-be assassin opened fire at a Trump rally near Pittsburgh, a mass shooting that killed one person and seriously injured two others. A bullet grazed Trump's right ear, coming a fraction of an inch from killing him as well.

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Jupiter man's online threats targeted Trump, Vance and their families

According to an arrest report made public Monday, Wiseman's postings called for violence against Trump, Vance and members of their families. Two of the postings spoke to the 20-year-old who shot at Trump and others with an AR-15-style rifle.

A public Facebook profile under Wiseman’s name on July 18 wrote, “READY, AIM, FIRE. RINSE AND REPEAT” with an image of Trump in the crosshairs of a sniper scope, records show.

“Why is Trump allowed to be alive? We need to train patriots,” read a post on a Threads social media account with the username “parrotsquawk,” which police linked to Wiseman. It urged a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor, a stamp and a national holiday for the 20-year-old gunman, who a U.S. Secret Service sniper killed after he opened fire.

According to a statement from Jupiter police, officers were alerted through multiple online crime tips and contacts from residents who expressed their concerns in person. The town coordinated the investigation with the Secret Service and the State Attorney's Office.

Wiseman was taken into custody without incident, police said in his arrest report. He admitted posting the threats on Facebook when police showed him printouts of them outside his home before his arrest on July 19, records show.

He first said he was on an unspecified medication when he made some of the posts, but then recanted and said he wasn’t, according to police, who said he was aware of the issue regarding the threatening posts and “spoke about it openly.”

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Past online threats to political figures have led to prison terms up to 18 months

In the wake of the Pennsylvania shooting, several people across the country have been fired or resigned from jobs after making offensive jokes or comments on social media expressing dismay that the shooter missed.

U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, who led the U.S. House inquiry into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, dismissed a staff member for comments she made on Facebook immediately after the incident.

Prosecutors in recent years have pursued other cases against other South Florida residents who have threatened government officials as diverse as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a leading Democrat from California, and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a conservative Colorado Republican. One woman who lived at Century Village near Boca Raton threatened to kill FBI agents in the wake of the Jan. 6 riots.

Guilty pleas in those cases, which involve threats made on voicemail as well as those posted on social media, have resulted in prison terms as long as 15 to 18 months.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: State wants Jupiter man who threatened Trump detained before trial