The former US Coastguard lieutenant charged with making threats against Donald Trump has sensationally claimed his disturbing social media posts were simply ‘political speech’ and even likened them to statements made by the president.
In a court memo arguing for his pre-trial release on Tuesday, Peter Stinson’s public defender characterized the 57-year-old Virginia father’s threatening comments about Trump as mere ‘political advocacy’ that should be protected by his First Amendment rights.
Attorney Geremy Kamens argued that Stinson, a trained sharpshooter, has engaged in ‘abstract’ political commentary on social media over several years and had no ‘specific’ or ‘imminent’ plans to harm the president.
Stinson, who served in the Coast Guard for 33 years, was arrested on Monday after a 19-page FBI affidavit alleged he made a series of threats against Trump between April 2020 and June 11, 2025.
He is scheduled to appear in court for his detention trial hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Describing Stinson as a ‘devoted father of five children’ with ‘deep ties to his community’, Kamens pointed out that his client has no ‘significant’ prior criminal history and does not pose a flight risk or danger to the community.
In an extraordinary statement, Kamens also noted that Stinson ‘repeatedly disclaimed his own ability to carry out violence’, which he argues ‘demonstrates’ that his posts ‘constitute political hyperbole’ and ‘disclaim any personal intention to engage in violent conduct’.
The apparent disclaimers were in reference to the posts in which Stinson stated he lacks the ‘skills’ and is ‘not a good enough shot’ and would serve only in a ‘support capacity.’
Virginia resident and former US Coast Guard lieutenant Peter Stinson has argued for pre-trial release, claiming his social media threats against the President Donald Trump were simply ‘political speech’ covered by the First Amendment
Stinson’s arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny by federal prosecutors, who are taking an aggressive approach to threats against government officials, following previous assassination attempts on Trump
Federal investigators alleged Stinson, a self-declared member of the far-left Antifa movement, posted a string of threats online, including writing that Trump needed to be ‘Luigied,’ a reference to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson incold blood on a New York City street.
He also allegedly made graphic threats against Trump on multiple social media platforms involving guns, knives and poisoning.
Stinson served in the United States Coast Guard for 33 years from 1988 until 2021. He was a sharpshooter and an instructor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during that time.
He is listed on LinkedIn as a coordinator for the MayDay Movement, which has the goal of impeaching and removing Trump as president.
Stinson also made several references online to ‘8647,’ which government officials recognized as a reference to an Instagram post made by former FBI Director James Comey.
To ’86’ means to cancel or get rid of something. Many interpreted Comey’s post as a threat against Trump, who was the 45th and is now the 47th president.
The document written by an FBI counter-terrorism task force officer stated: ‘The post by Comey was interpreted in the news media as a violent threat to President Trump and prompted an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service.’
Stinson’s arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny by federal prosecutors, who are taking an aggressive approach to threats against the president and other government officials, following previous assassination attempts on Trump.
Stinson, who is also a trained sharpshooter was arrested on Monday after an FBI affidavit revealed social media activity where he allegedly threatening Trump with guns, knives, and poisoning
He is listed on LinkedIn as a coordinator for the MayDay Movement, which has the goal of impeaching and removing Trump as 47th U.S. president
Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in the ear in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
Crooks was taken out by counter snipers – but not before the shooter killed a rally attendee and badly injured two others.
Based on the timing of that attempt on Trump’s life and Stinson’s social media posts, investigators found that the former Coast Guard officer was referencing the attack when he wrote: ‘A missed opportunity will not come around again.’
Stinson referenced online on February 6, 2025 that he didn’t have the ‘necessary skills’ to carry out an assassination and claimed that many people and groups were plotting action.
He suggested, however, in other posts that he does have those skills.
The court documents come as neighbors in the quiet rural enclave in Oakton, Virginia, where Stinson lives with his wife, two high-school aged sons and their dog Betty-Lou, told of the dramatic moment FBI agents and an armored vehicle swooped on the property on Friday evening at about 5pm.
One neighbor, who did not want to be named, said about 10 FBI agents in multiple unmarked vehicles with blacked out windows took over the three-bedroom house for several hours.
Some of the agents were wearing heavy military fatigues, he said, but he understood they were conducting a federal search warrant.
Another said when she saw an ‘aggressive’ armored vehicle roll into the street – which appeared to have a machine gun mounted on the back – she took her family into their basement.
‘We didn’t know what was happening at this stage, and we were fearful of a shootout,’ she said.
The locals said they did not see Stinson detained by the authorities, but that his younger son was at home during the search as they saw him standing at the top of the street.
Neighbors believe the FBI had been scoping out the house – which is set back from the road in a wooded glade – all day on Friday, as they’d seen several unfamiliar cars driving down the road.
Documents show Stinson was arrested in Fairfax county, on Friday before news broke of the charges against him yesterday.
Locals were in disbelief at the charges levied against Stinson, who they described as an ‘unassuming, quiet guy’ and a ‘nice, down-to-earth man’.
‘There was nothing that gave me cause to think he’d be accused of anything like that, but we didn’t really know them too well,’ one said.
They said Stinson and his family had been renting their home for about a year-and-a-half and ‘kept themselves to themselves’.
Stinson also made several references online to ‘8647,’ which government officials recognized as a reference to an Instagram post made by former FBI Director James Comey
Many interpreted ’86 47′ as a threat against Trump, since ’86’ means to get rid of something and Trump is the 47th president
Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘I met him on Halloween, it was a two-second conversation, he seemed nice.
‘So when Friday happened, I was like, “Ok holy cow, what’s going on”, but they [the authorities] didn’t tell us anything.
‘I went outside to take out the recycling and saw them up there, and was like oh “do I need to move my vehicles?” They were like “no” and I was like “Am I safe?” and they said “you’re fine”.
‘My husband called me earlier because he heard news of it on the radio, I only just found out what it was about today. I didn’t even know his name.
‘It’s kind of crazy. You never know who’s living next door, but unfortunately this is a time when there’s a lot of people upset with a lot of things on both ways.’
In their memo arguing for Stinson’s release, his attorneys cite President Trump’s January 2021 speech encouraging listeners to ‘fight like hell’ and march on the Capitol, amid his false claims the 2020 election was rigged against him.
Trump was acquitted in a Senate impeachment hearing over inciting an insurrection after a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, highlighting, say Stinson’s lawyers, ‘the high bar for criminalizing political speech’.
They cited Trump’s 2023 remark on Truth Social warning ‘of potential death and destruction’ if he were criminally charged as ‘political speech that could be construed as encouraging violence’.
They also highlighted Trump’s apparent 2016 suggestion that Second Amendment gun rights supporters could take matters into their own hands if Hillary Clinton were elected President and appointed judges who favored stricter gun control.
They said the statement, which could be construed as encouraging violence against a political opponent, was widely criticized but also recognized as protected political speech’.
Stinson’s attorneys said by contrast his statements were ‘less specific’ and are protected by the First Amendment.
They claimed his ‘general posts on social media’ between 2020 and 2025 showed a ‘lack of imminence’ and a ‘lack of specific plans, targets, timing or methods’ suggesting ‘the statements at issue constitute political hyperbole reflecting deep-seated opposition to President Trump, not true threats’.
It went on that his membership of the Mayday movement ‘demonstrates his commitment to lawful and peaceful political expression and democratic processes’.
Hannah Markley of the group said Wednesday that Stinson stood down from leadership positions in April.
Arguing for his pre-trial release, his lawyers said: ‘Mr. Stinson’s decades of faithful service to his country, his role as a devoted father, his deep community ties, and his commitment to lawful political expression through the democratic process all weigh heavily in favor of pretrial release.
‘His PTRA score of 1 reflects minimal risk, and no evidence suggests he poses a danger to the community or risk of flight.’
In a statement posted online Tuesday, activists from the Mayday movement ‘expressed dismay and a high degree of suspicion’ about Stinson’s arrest.
‘We learned today that Peter is charged with threatening President Trump. We think these charges are exaggerated and overblown.
‘The Peter we know has been very clear that the only solution to Donald Trump’s transgressions is impeachment and removal, the Constitutionally sanctioned remedy. We would be surprised if Peter made any comments suggesting he was inclined toward violence.
‘We remain firmly committed to the goal Peter set when he founded the Mayday Movement: impeachment, conviction and removal.
‘The Mayday Movement is maintaining a 24/7 presence on the National Mall calling for the impeachment, conviction and removal of President Trump. Through a continuous, peaceful protest, we aim to hold our leaders accountable and restore constitutional integrity.’
