Overview
- A federal grand jury charged Shannon Mathre, 33, with threatening the vice president under 18 U.S.C. §871(a) and with receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse materials under 18 U.S.C. §2252(a)(2).
- According to the indictment, Mathre allegedly said he would find where the vice president would be and “use my M14 automatic gun and kill him” during Vance’s January visit to northwest Ohio.
- U.S. Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Feb. 6, he made an initial court appearance the same day, and he remains detained ahead of a Feb. 11 hearing.
- Investigators reported discovering multiple digital CSAM files, with the indictment citing activity from Dec. 31, 2025, to Jan. 21, 2026, and agents seizing Mathre’s Samsung phone on Jan. 21.
- Top Justice Department officials publicly denounced the alleged conduct, while Mathre’s attorney questioned the threat charge as a “farce,” citing his client’s health conditions.