Shannon Mathre, 33, allegedly stated he was going to find Vance’s location and fatally shoot him, according to an indictment filed earlier this week.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Secret Service agents arrested a Toledo man on Friday for allegedly threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance during his visit last month to northwest Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
An indictment returned against Shannon Mathre, 33, on Wednesday alleges that on Jan. 21 he stated “I am going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.”
The indictment does not specify how Mathre made the threat.
“Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “You can hide behind a screen, but you cannot hide from this Department of Justice.”
Vance visited Toledo on Jan. 22, the day after Mathre made the threat, to deliver remarks alongside other Republican figures like Sen. Jon Husted and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Mathre remains in custody ahead of a detention hearing on Feb. 11.
According to the DOJ, Mathre was also found to be in possession of child pornography between Dec. 31, 2025, and Jan. 21, 2026, while federal agents were investigating him for the alleged threat against Vance.
Mathre pleaded not guilty to the two charges against him — Threats against President and Successors to Presidency and Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography — in court on Friday.
“Hostile and violent threats made against the Vice President, or any other public official, will not be tolerated in our District,” said David M. Toepfer, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Anyone threatening this kind of action will face swift justice and prosecution. We commend the actions of our local and state law enforcement who collaborated with U.S. Secret Service to take this individual into custody.”