Staff Reports
A federal grand jury has returned a three-count indictment against Benjamin Azariah Southworth, the podcaster who operated under the “Holy Menace” persona, after prosecutors say he crossed from political speech into criminal threats aimed at President Trump. The charges — threatening the President, cyberstalking, and harassing interstate communications — describe a pattern of violent rhetoric that was allegedly broadcast, monetized, and aimed at private citizens. Hardworking Americans deserve straight answers about how someone can post an assassination fantasy and still run a storefront selling “KILL TRUMP” stickers. This case is a test of whether justice applies equally when the targets are on the right.
Federal Indictment and Arrest
Federal agents, including the Secret Service and FBI, arrested Southworth after the indictment was unsealed and prosecutors announced the charges through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli and FBI Director Kash Patel made clear that threats of political violence are criminal, not casual rhetoric. Conservatives welcome law enforcement doing its job, but the bigger issue is why this rhetoric was allowed to flourish online for so long without the same outrage the media directs at conservative speech.
Monetized Violence and Platform Hypocrisy
The indictment alleges Southworth not only voiced the words “kill Donald Trump” on camera and digitally placed himself in the Oval Office with a knife, but he also advertised and sold five-dollar sticker sheets reading KILL TRUMP. That’s an assassination fantasy with a checkout button — the modern face of political extremism turned into a small business model. Where were the payment processors and social platforms when a violent message was being converted into cash? The double standard is glaring and dangerous.
Targeting the President’s Attorney and Families
Prosecutors also allege he published the home address and phone numbers of President Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow and left threatening voicemails at a private residence, actions that cross into stalking and intimidation of families. This isn’t abstract political posturing; it’s threatening a lawyer’s wife and children at their home, and it deserves the full weight of federal law. Americans of every political stripe should be united in condemning threats against private homes and families, especially when packaged as activism.
Accountability and Media Double Standards
The swift arrest is a reminder that the rule of law still matters, but conservative readers are right to ask where the wall-to-wall coverage and moral hand-wringing have been when left-wing radicals traffick in death threats. If platforms and the press truly cared about “dangerous rhetoric,” they would treat all threats the same and stop shielding ideological allies. The DOJ and Congress should press platforms and payment processors to stop profiting from calls for violence, and patriotic Americans must keep demanding equal enforcement and consistent public outrage.
