SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri man is facing federal charges after making threats on TikTok towards Donald Trump, other Republicans, and police, according to the United State's Attorney.
On July 31, Justin White posted a video on TikTok saying, “This goes to every Republican out there. You don’t start playing fair with them votes, I’ll start showing up with a gun, I promise you. I’ll show you what real [EXPLETIVE] violence is, and I’m not afraid to kill you or a [EXPLETIVE] cop. So, if you want to play dirty at the votes this year, in 2024, just remember, where I come from, we get physical. So, if you Republicans don’t play fair, there will be guns and violence involved this year." according to federal court documents.
The caption of the video stated, “This is a message to Donald Trump and the Republicans. If you don’t play…”
On August 22, White made three similar explicit posts on his Facebook page, making threats to kill police. One of the posts included a picture of a gun and ammunition.
Federal investigators say White is a known person to the Springfield Police Department because he posted similar videos in the past.
On August 29, federal investigators searched White’s house and arrested him. Authorities recovered a gun and 100 bullets.
During his post-Miranda interview, White told investigators his hatred towards police started because of videos on TikTok and YouTube about cops being aggressive or violent. He also mentioned when he was a teenager in St. Louis, he was involved in a shooting with a police officer.
According to the FBI, White made the Facebook posts because he was angry after, he believed, he saw an officer stopped at his house looking at his cars. White said he had gotten into an argument with someone about politics on TikTok before he posted that video.