Marine veteran sentenced to 38 months for threatening Trump and Harris

Rene Ortiz, a 56-year-old Marine veteran, was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for filing documents that threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump and 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris with an M-16A2 rifle. Judge Stephen M. McNamee described the threats as intentional and warned that service does not grant immunity from the law. Ortiz, diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder and PTSD, argued he possessed no firearms and sought attention after a series of dismissed lawsuits against the VA.

Federal public defender Success V. Carter urged probation, citing the potential loss of Ortiz's disability benefits for his family, but prosecutor Abbie Broughton countered that the sentence was a necessary consequence of his conduct. The court noted Ortiz's prior threats to a California U.S. attorney’s office and voicemail messages to judges, and considered his request to be housed in Arizona while prioritizing facilities equipped to treat his mental health and addiction issues.