[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...-michigan.html

JD Vance, not that one, gets 2 years in prison for threatening the vice president

Their initials match. So do their surnames.

One is a heartbeat from the presidency, and the other, J.D. Vance, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison in connection with threats made against the vice president and President Donald Trump on social media.

The man who made the threats, James Donald Vance Jr., 67, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, pleaded guilty to three criminal counts in July, according to filings in U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Secret Service agents arrested Vance — not the vice president — in June after linking him to a series of social media posts in March and April on Bluesky in which he vowed to kill the president and vice president, the authorities said.

Federal prosecutors said he also made threats against billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump previously put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, and Donald Trump Jr., responding to a social media post suggesting that the president’s oldest son might seek the presidency in 2028.

“If tRump, Vance, or Musk ever come to my city again, they will leave it in a body bag,” a criminal complaint quoted Vance as saying. “I will either be shot by a secret service sniper or spend the rest of my life in prison. I’ve only got about 10 years of life left anyway.”

In July, Vance pleaded guilty to threatening to kill or injure the president and vice president, as well as transmitting interstate threatening communications. Each felony count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In a filing before Monday’s sentencing hearing, the public defender, Helen C. Nieuwenhuis, wrote that Vance should receive probation instead of jail time because he was a “first-time offender with serious physical and mental health issues.”

Federal prosecutors had urged the judge to sentence Vance — the defendant — to at least 30 months in prison, pointing out that he had been investigated in 2018 for posting threats against Trump on Facebook and that he had a history of making threats toward several other people.

“Threats against our nation’s leaders and their families will not be tolerated,” William Shink, a special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Detroit field office, said in a statement Monday.

[kellyhound]

Prosecutors had initially suggested a sentence between 30 and 37 months. Maloney handed Vance Jr. a 24-month sentence followed by three years of supervised release.

"When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished."

Arguing for a lighter sentence, a court-appointed attorney for Vance Jr. said the 67-year-old suffered mental abuse as a child and currently deals with other health issues. Vance Jr. had no prior criminal history.

[Suicide_Note]

What an idiot. Good to see he actually has to serve some jail time, and not go home with a slap on the wrist.

[Mr.NoCredit]

Those are thoughts you keep to yourself and not share on social media. We all get to have our own opinions but to voice them on public platforms is, well, a criminal offense. Good luck in jail dude.

[jennyt]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

Prosecutors had initially suggested a sentence between 30 and 37 months. Maloney handed Vance Jr. a 24-month sentence followed by three years of supervised release.

"When Vance said he planned to kill our President and the Vice President simply because he disagreed with them, he crossed a line we all understand and so had to be punished."

Arguing for a lighter sentence, a court-appointed attorney for Vance Jr. said the 67-year-old suffered mental abuse as a child and currently deals with other health issues. Vance Jr. had no prior criminal history.

Sounds like he had a good five decades to sort out that childhood trauma.

[William May]

Ummmm, so, with Trump threatening to kill Democrats, is HE going to jail? And I mean the actual President, NOT some guy from Ohio who has the same name as Donald J. Trump, because it was President Trump who directly and publicly threatened to kill Democratic leaders.
Curios to hear everyone's thoughts on THAT.

[njpace99]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

Ummmm, so, with Trump threatening to kill Democrats, is HE going to jail? And I mean the actual President, NOT some guy from Ohio who has the same name as Donald J. Trump, because it was President Trump who directly and publicly threatened to kill Democratic leaders.
Curios to hear everyone's thoughts on THAT.

Trump will not be going to jail because he did not threaten anyone.

There's a difference between an opinion and a statement of intent. While I'm sure you know this, you are allowed to state that you believe someone should be charged and executed for a crime. You're not allowed to state that YOU are going to kill them.

Here's two examples. The first is perfectly legal. The second is a death threat.

I think you should be given a ticket and shot by a firing squad for letting your dog poop on my lawn.

I'm gonna shoot you for letting your dog poop on my lawn.

One is perfectly legal to tell someone. The other will likely land you in prison.

[houseoftechno]

Originally Posted by jennyt ↗

Sounds like he had a good five decades to sort out that childhood trauma.

That that may just be a reference to his party affiliation. Who knows what the lawyer meant by mental issues?

[x68000]

Coming from Grand Rapids, I’m surprised he didn’t use his boom stick

S-Mart’s top of the line.

[vulturedoors]

Originally Posted by Guns N' Coffee ↗

In a filing before Monday’s sentencing hearing, the public defender, Helen C. Nieuwenhuis, wrote that Vance should receive probation instead of jail time because he was a “first-time offender with serious physical and mental health issues.”

That seems like a strong argument to keep him in prison, and not let him have probation.