A Rochester man was arrested and charged with making threats against Donald Trump Jr. in a podcast chat on June 18, 2026, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
James Gerald Eckert Jr., 39, was charged by criminal complaint with threats to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon a member of the immediate family of the President. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, a member of the U.S. Secret Service on duty at Trump Jr.’s residence was alerted to several threats made against him in the group chat feed of Trump Jr.’s podcast “Triggered with Donald Trump Jr.” The threats included: “im going to kill you, (expletive), I am going to kill this (expletive) on the screen,” posted by an account with the username JamesGeraldEckertJr/@JamesGeraldEckertJr.
While viewing the podcast on the online video platform Rumble, Eckert also streamed himself for approximately eight minutes, repeating similar threats verbally and through live chat posts against both Trump Jr. and the CEO of Rumble. The threats included statements such as “your (expletive) dead, its over guys” and “I’m going to go to YouTube and be calm and I’m still going to (expletive) kill Trump Junior,” according to the complaint.
The threats against Trump Jr. were not Eckert’s only alleged violent communications. On June 7, prior to the podcast threats, Eckert posted a message on Facebook directed at Rochester Mayor Malik Evans: “Mayor Malik Evans, I am coming for your family. Seriously, you will lose them to me personally. Stand by. This will not go away until you are dead or [REDACTED] is behind bars. Deal with this.” On June 11, he made a threatening post against New York State Senator Samra Brouk on her official Facebook page, stating “You are going to die,” according to the complaint.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Charles T. Perras, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis A. Testani.
Eckert made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was held pending a detention hearing scheduled for July 20, 2026.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of New York — Official press release announcing the arrest and charges against Eckert, detailing the threats made in the podcast chat and against local officials.
- WHEC.com — News report on the arrest and the specific threats made in the podcast chat feed and Rumble livestream.
- RochesterFirst — Coverage of the arrest and the pattern of threats against Trump Jr. and local Rochester officials.
