FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that his agents have arrested a Los Angeles man accused of threatening President Donald Trump and his personal attorney Jay Sekulow.

Benjamin Southworth was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday for allegedly using social media accounts from January to May 2026 to publicly express his hatred toward Trump and the president’s supporters, according to the Justice Department. 

Southworth has been charged with one count of threats against the President, one count of cyberstalking, and one count of harassing telephone calls in interstate communications.

“As threats against President Trump’s life escalate, the Department of Justice will respond with the full force of the law,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “We will hold perpetrators of violent threats accountable, and anyone who makes these threats online will not be allowed to hide behind their screens.”

Patel said the threats are "as vile as they are criminal - those responsible will be met by this FBI and law enforcement."

Southworth, who also allegedly left a series of abusive messages online and over voicemail, would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for threatening Trump, a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for cyberstalking and a statutory maximum sentence of two years in federal prison for telephonic harassment, if convicted. 

The man is expected to appear in court in Los Angeles later Thursday.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.