Grand Rapids man sentenced for online threats against Trump, Vance

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Nov 18, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DETROIT — A Grand Rapids man convicted of posting threats against U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance online has been sentenced, officials said.

James Donald Vance Jr., 67, was given two years in prison on Wednesday by a U.S. District Judge for threatening to kill or injure the president and vice president as well as interstate threatening communications, according to authorities.

“The advent of the internet gives us all an opportunity to engage in the healthy exchange of ideas that are so important to a democracy," Timothy VerHey, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement Monday. "But some would rather use this tool to threaten and intimidate, conduct that causes fear and damages our democratic ideals.

"When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished."

In a sentencing memorandum submitted to the court, Helen Nieuwenhuis, Vance's federal public defender, said her client was a first-time offender with "significant physical and mental health issues."

She said he suffered severe child abuse and neglect at the hands of alcoholic parents.

The defendant's parents never properly toilet-trained him, and he grew up wearing diapers well into his teen years. His parents would send him outside in diapers to ridicule him when he was 8 years old, the attorney said in her memo. "Mr. Vance still enjoys wearing diapers," Nieuwenhuis wrote.

Vance also suffers from heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and other ailments, his public defender said.

"Mr. Vance pled guilty to all three counts without a plea agreement, accepted full responsibility, and began mental-health treatment immediately after his arrest," Nieuwenhuis said. "Although the statements were troubling, there is no evidence that Mr. Vance intended or planned to act on them. His full cooperation, consent to search, and voluntary treatment demonstrate remorse, insight, and an absence of danger."

Federal officials alleged that in March and April 2025, Vance made several threats on Bluesky, a social media service, under the alias "Diaperjdv." He was indicted in June and charged with a count of threatening to kill and injure the president and vice president, and two counts of interstate threatening communication.

They said he made specific threats to kill four people, including Trump and his vice president.

In one message, he allegedly wrote, "If Trump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag. I will either be shot by a secret service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I’ve only got about 10 years of life left anyway so I don’t f---ing care either way."

The defendant pleaded guilty to the two charges in July, according to court records. Each crime carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

"Threats against our nation’s leaders and their families will not be tolerated," William Shink, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Detroit Field Office, said in a statement. "Individuals who threaten the President, Vice President, or any U.S. Secret Service protectee will be investigated and held accountable for their actions."

VerHey said Vance's sentencing is the second time in a month that a defendant was sentenced in his district for threatening the president.

Richard James Spring, of Comstock Park, pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Trump after committing rape, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. Spring was sentenced on Oct. 20 to 18 months in prison and was fined $2,000.

Both cases are among the most recent instances of threats against elected officials.

Last month, a Livonia man who allegedly suggested an Oakland County election official be hanged for treason asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the county from prosecuting him.

Also in October, a man whose convictions for storming the U.S. Capitol were erased by Trump's mass pardons was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

In September, a New York man was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for threatening Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

-----------