Administration

FAA contractor charged with threatening to kill Trump

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by Sophie Brams - 05/05/26 3:56 PM ET

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by Sophie Brams - 05/05/26 3:56 PM ET

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A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor in New Hampshire is facing federal charges after authorities said he threatened to kill President Trump and used a work computer to research previous assassination attempts against the president.

Dean DelleChiaie, 35, was arrested on Monday and made his first appearance before a federal judge on Tuesday, according to the Justice Department. He is charged with one count of interstate communication of a threat.

DelleChiaie, an FAA contractor involved in mechanical engineering, is accused of using his government computer to conduct multiple searches in late January about how to get a gun into a federal facility, previous attempts on Trump’s life, the percentage of the population that wants the president dead and other related searches.

A criminal complaint stated that he also searched for information on the location of the vice president’s and Defense secretary’s homes, as well as the names and ages of their children.

“At some point after running those searches, DELLECHIAIE took his FAA work computer to the FAA’s Information Technology (IT) department and requested to delete his search history off the device,” the complaint stated, noting that the IT department reported the “concerning searches” within the agency, which then elevated them to the U.S. Secret Service.

DelleChiaie was placed on suspension from the FAA, according to the complaint.

Secret Service agents met with DelleChiaie at his Nashua, N.H., apartment in early February, during which he allegedly admitted to and expressed remorse for making the searches.

Special Agent Nathaniel Gamble wrote in the complaint that the suspect told authorities he was upset with the Trump administration about the election, presidential pardons, and the Jeffrey Epstein files. DelleChiaie also said he was depressed and undergoing Ketamine therapy.

“DELLECHIAIE stated he had no interest in assassinations but he did conduct a search about assassinations because it was part of the cycle that was going on in his mind,” the complaint stated. “DELLECHIAIE could not provide a reason other than that as to why he searched about assassinations or attempted assassinations.”

DelleChiaie also reportedly admitted to owning three firearms, including a handgun kept inside a safe in his home.

Months after that meeting, prosecutors said DelleChiaie sent an email to the White House, in which he identified himself and said he was going to “neutralize/kill” Trump.

DelleChiaie faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

The arrest comes over a week after a gunman rushed security and opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attack federal authorities said targeted senior Trump administration officials. The gunman, Cole Allen, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

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