A 22-year-old man from Anaheim, California, is facing federal charges after allegedly falsely claiming he placed pipe bombs inside Disneyland before Vice President JD Vance visited the park with his family last year.
Marco Antonio Aguayo is accused of posting messages on the Walt Disney Co.'s official Instagram page after learning that Vance was visiting the park on July 12, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged Wednesday with one count of making threats against the president and successors to the presidency, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Aguayo is expected to make his initial appearance Tuesday at U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California. If convicted, Aguayo faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
Aguayo "is now in the Unhappiest Place on Earth," Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, wrote Friday night on X. "Today, Aguayo was arrested and charged with threatening to kill @VP Vance with pipe bombs last summer when the Vice President and his family visited Disneyland.
"A threat to kill a public official is a federal crime. First Amendment rights do not extend to threats to kill or injure others, especially our nation's elected officials. Such conduct will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished."
On the day Vance and his family visited Disneyland, Aguayo allegedly posted several public comments on the Instagram account of the Walt Disney Co., according to the criminal complaint. The first comment read, "Pipe bombs have been placed in preparation for J.D. Vance's arrival."
Another read, "It's time for us to rise up and you will be a witness to it." A third read, "Good luck finding all of them on time there will be bloodshed tonight and we will bathe in the blood of corrupt politicians."
U.S. Secret Service special agents Marjorie Edens and David Kim, along with Anaheim Police Sgt. John McClintlock, visited Aguayo at his apartment the day Vance arrived. They questioned him about the posts.
Aguayo initially denied knowing anything about the posts and suggested his account might have been hacked, but later admitted to writing them, according to the criminal complaint.
"He claimed that he intended it merely as a joke to provoke attention and laughter," the complaint said.
Aguayo allegedly told agents he had intended to delete the posts but forgot.
After securing a search warrant, Secret Service agents reviewed Aguayo's phone and a shared laptop and found four Instagram accounts.
"This case is a horrific reminder of the dangers public officials face from deranged criminals who would do them harm," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the news release. "I am grateful that my friend Vice President Vance and his family are safe, applaud the police work that led to the arrest, and will ensure my prosecutors deliver swift justice."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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