An Oregon man is back in police custody after sending a text message to his probation officer threatening to “kill the president.”
Diedrich Holgate, 47, was convicted in July last year for making threats on social media and calling the U.S. Secret Service, where he threatened both then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
During a call to the Secret Service in June 2024, Holgate asserted, “I have the right to kill the president.”
According to the federal indictment, he declared, “I’m going to kill them all,” expressing indifference about whether it was Trump or Biden, and suggested they would “hang them all for treason.”
A couple of months later, he called the Secret Service again, threatening to “hang him for treason,” claiming that no one, not even the first lady or a Supreme Court justice, could protect him.
Holgate had been released from custody on January 21 but was placed under strict conditions, similar to a concentration camp.
Not long after his release, his probation officer filed a motion to revoke his probation due to several violations, including ongoing threats against the president.
The petition noted, “Holgate made threatening statements to the probation officer multiple times via text messages.” It argued that there was enough evidence indicating a breach of his supervised release.
In his messages, he wrote, “Mr. Trump forgive me or I’ll kill you!!!” and in another, referenced the probation officer as a “traitor and a heretic,” suggesting dire consequences if she didn’t align with him.
A magistrate found probable cause during a preliminary hearing that Holgate had indeed violated the conditions of his release. Besides making threats, he also missed a meeting with his probation officer and breached house rules by vaping.
Holgate will remain in custody until his next hearing scheduled for March 26.
He has a prior conviction from 2018 for sending threatening voicemails to two judges in Travis County, Texas.
