Podcaster Arrested for Threatening President Trump

Federal agents have arrested a podcaster in Los Angeles, charging him with threatening to kill President Donald Trump.

Benjamin Azariah Southworth was taken into custody on Thursday morning at his apartment in the Westlake area, as stated by Bill Essayli, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.

“Donald Trump is a pedophile,” he shouted as agents were leading him away. “The country has fallen!”

According to Essayli, the 40-year-old Southworth was indicted by a grand jury for making threats against the president, as well as for cyberstalking and harassment through interstate calls.

“He is charged with posting videos that called for President Trump’s assassination. He also targeted the family of the President’s personal attorney by disclosing their home address and phone numbers, threatening them with messages stating ‘justice comes to your door,’” he explained. “Threats against the President of the United States are federal crimes. We will not tolerate threats of political violence in our country, and my office will pursue anyone who crosses that line to the fullest extent of the law.”

Southworth co-hosted a podcast called “Yass, Jesus!”, which is described on Spotify as an interfaith comedy show focused on sexuality. The podcast promotes the idea that individuals shouldn’t have to choose between faith and their sexual orientation.

Court documents allege that, between January and May of this year, Southworth repeatedly called for the assassination of Trump through his online platforms. A court filing indicates that on April 7, he posted an Instagram video in which he made direct threats, saying, “I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump.”

“This government is illegitimate and out of control. It’s time for course correction. Kill Donald Trump,” he added.

Prosecutors noted that he also targeted the president’s supporters and aides through private communications.

“If I encounter any Trump official in-person, I’m seriously afraid I will end up in jail,” Southworth texted an acquaintance in January, and he further stated, “If I could kill him, I wouldn’t waste the opportunity.”

In another video from March, he suggested he was exercising free speech while uttering direct threats.

“Kill Donald Trump. Kill that mother****ing pedophile in the White House. Kill that traitor of the United States Constitution,” he said, according to court documents.

In an April video, he depicted himself being brought to the Oval Office and brandishing a knife toward President Trump.

If found guilty on all charges, Southworth could face up to 12 years in federal prison.