Threats Against President and Officials Lead to New Charge for Rhode Island Man

A Rhode Island man has been charged after allegedly threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondy, and Stephen Miller, a White House Deputy Chief of Staff. Despite the serious accusations, he is currently out on bail.

Carl D. Montague, 37, from Providence, was charged this week with “interstate communication of threats and threats to the president.” He remains under monitoring via an ankle bracelet, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

Two federal judges, both appointed by Democrats, dismissed the Department of Justice’s request to imprison Montague following his charges. After his initial arrest last month, he was released outside the courthouse, where he interacted with reporters.

Earlier, on July 9, federal agents took Montague into custody. Despite having four previous assault convictions, both the Magistrate Judge and later the U.S. District Judge decided against keeping him in custody. Instead, the latter mandated that he wear a GPS tracking device.

The FBI affidavit mentioned a threat made by Montague on June 27, where he allegedly posted on Truth Social, saying he wanted to shoot and kill the President, alongside remarks aimed at other officials. The threat was reported to the U.S. Secret Service by Trump Media and Technology, which oversees the platform.

His message included violent language, expressing anger towards political figures.

A few days later, agents located Montague at an associate’s apartment, where he was found hiding in a bathtub. Interestingly, he started confessing to the threat even before agents had a chance to introduce themselves.

Montague claimed that he had consumed a lot of marijuana when he made the threat. He mentioned feeling frustrated with the current political scenario, expressing his feelings through social media. Despite this alarming behavior, he stated he did not have access to a weapon and had no plans to act on his threats, even showing remorse about his post.

Initially, he was released on a $10,000 bond, despite the DOJ’s concerns over his behavior. A few days later, the DOJ submitted a new motion outlining Montague’s past convictions and violations.

The American attorney argued that the defendant had a history of aggressive behavior and didn’t seem capable of controlling it.

On July 25, U.S. District Judge Melissa R. Dubose declined the DOJ’s motion to detain Montague, instead imposing a curfew and the requirement of a GPS ankle monitor. Dubose was appointed by President Biden.

As of now, no date has been set for Montague’s next court appearance regarding the indictment.