FBI arrests Charlotte-area man for threats against Trump, Vance and others
.png "President Donald Trump in a White House video Sept. 9, 2025, where he blamed policies in Democratic-run cities like Charlotte for contributing to the death of Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on the light rail. A Salisbury man was charged for making threats on social media against Trump in November.")
The FBI arrested a Salisbury man accused of making threats against President Donald Trump and others on social media, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina announced Thursday.
Christian Daniels has been charged with making threats against the President over several days, and with sending threats across state lines.
“It has become far too common for people to make violent threats on social media,” stated James Barnacle Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina. “ Threats to public officials, their loved ones, a grieving widow, or the President of the United States are illegal. Political violence in all forms must stop.”
Using the name “Clyde Franco” on Facebook, Daniels allegedly made a post on Nov. 14 tagging Trump. He said, “Imma personally do the medieval torture on you! It’ll be GLORIOUS,” according to the criminal complaint.
A day later, he tagged Trump again and stated: “DONALD I’LL BE SEEING YOU EYE TO EYE! I WILL BE THE LAST THING YOUR EYES SEE AS YOU DRAW YOUR LAST BREATH!”, according to the complaint.
From Nov. 12 through Nov. 14, other posts tagged Trump and Vice President JD Vance, with threats of a “public execution” and “horrors.”
On Nov. 17, a public post tagged Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel. It included threats such as “DEATH COMING SOON TO ALL Y’ALL!!” and “TELL KASH I’LL BE SEEING HIM PERSONALLY!” according to the complaint.
When the post was made and received, Wilkins was not in North Carolina, which adds an interstate communications element.
The Facebook account was linked to Daniels through an email address, associated credit card names, and his date of birth.
His mother told the FBI that the Facebook account belonged to her son and said she was worried he might commit a violent act, according to the case filing. She said he has several mental health diagnoses and often carries a machete.
Daniels faces charges from a neighbor and a relative who say he threatened to kill them and trespassed. A magistrate ordered him to be committed for mental health evaluation on Nov. 20.
Daniels appeared in court Thursday in Winston-Salem and was taken into custody. He will have a detention hearing on Dec. 18 in Greensboro.
If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Iverson. U.S. Attorney Dan Bishop made the announcement Thursday.
“We’re not going to abide threats against President Trump in the Middle District of North Carolina,” Bishop stated in a news release. “ I’m grateful to the FBI and AUSA Iverson for their quick response.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 7:52 PM.
