Tewksbury police say they seized a revolver-style firearm from the home of a teenager accused of posting social media threats to kill President Donald Trump.
Trenton Touch, 18, appeared in federal court in Boston on Monday. He remains in federal custody ahead of a detention hearing scheduled for next week.
According to an affidavit, Meta notified the FBI in September about threats posted from several Instagram accounts. Investigators linked the posts to Touch, who was arrested on state firearm charges in October and later charged federally with threatening the president.
Prosecutors say Touch also threatened to shoot up a school. In a direct message allegedly sent on June 21, he shared an image of a firearm alongside the words, “im gonna kill trump.” They also allege that he repeatedly praised mass shooters, including people involved in racially motivated violence.
Neighbors described a dramatic law enforcement operation at Touch’s home early on October 26. Richard Frank said a loud blast woke him around 6 a.m. and shook him. He recalled officers moving between two houses, another flash-bang, and a man being led out amid shouting before being taken away in a car.
Investigators said they found military-style or surplus items at Touch’s home, including camouflage clothing, a ballistic helmet, military-style knives, and a hatchet. An affidavit also says they found items associated with white supremacist and Nazi ideology.
A separate search at his grandparents’ home in New Hampshire turned up a firearm that prosecutors say appeared to match the weapon shown in the Instagram post.
FBI Boston special agent in charge Ted Docks described Touch as an alleged white supremacist accused of threatening to kill the president. Docks said investigators recovered a firearm and other equipment, and that the FBI would continue working with its partners to prevent threats from becoming acts of violence.
Touch was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail on the state firearm charges in Lowell District Court. If convicted of the federal charge, he could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and as many as three years of supervised release.
