Massachusetts teen charged with threatening to kill Trump on social media, feds say

Tewksbury police said they seized a revolver-style firearm at the home of a teenager who had allegedly posted threats to kill President Donald Trump on social media accounts.

That teenager, Trenton Touch, was in federal court for an initial appearance in Boston Monday, according to NBC 10 Boston. He remains in federal detention pending a detention hearing next week.

'I heard a loud explosion which got me out of bed... There was a lot of screaming and yelling and they put him in a car and took him away.'

Meta alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in September about threats made on Instagram by multiple accounts, according to an affidavit reported by CBS News.

Investigators connected the threats to the 18-year-old from Tewksbury, Mass., according to a U.S. Attorney's press release.

He was arrested on gun charges in October and later federally charged with making threats against the president.

Touch threatened to kill the president and also threatened to shoot up a school, according to the press release.

Prosecutors said a direct message Touch allegedly sent on June 21, showed a firearm with a message reading, "im gonna kill trump."

Prosecutors said Touch frequently praised mass shooters as "heroes," and specifically those who participated in "racially motivated violent extremism."

Touch's neighbors said they heard loud sounds from a law enforcement action early on Oct. 26, according to CBS News.

"About 6 o'clock in the morning I heard a loud explosion which got me out of bed and I'm a Vietnam veteran and it shook me up," said Richard Frank to CBS News.

"They were running up between the two houses, there was another flash bang and then they brought a gentleman out," he added. "There was a lot of screaming and yelling and they put him in a car and took him away.

At his home, according to the Department of Justice, investigators also seized "multiple military-style or military surplus items including camouflage clothing, a ballistics helmet, military-style knives and a hatchet."

Investigators also claimed to have found items related to white supremacist and Nazi ideology, according to an affidavit reported by CBS News.

A separate search at his grandparents' home in New Hampshire recovered a firearm that prosecutors said appeared to match the firearm photographed in the Instagram post, according to the affidavit.

If convicted ,Touch faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He may also be ordered to supervised release for up to three years.

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"Trenton Touch is an alleged white supremacist who now stands accused of threatening to kill the president. Based on the evidence recovered by FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force – including a firearm, military-style knives, a hatchet, and a ballistics helmet — he allegedly had the means to do it," said Ted Docks, the special agent in charge of the Boston division of the FBI.

"Your FBI will continue to work closely with our partners, using every tool available, to protect the public and stop people from turning violent rhetoric into action," he added.

Touch was ordered to be held on $50,000 cash bail on state firearm charges in Lowell District Court, according to Tewksbury police.

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