William Upham, a Congressional candidate and former Marine, called for President Donald Trump’s assassination in a recent X post, saying, “he must die.” In efforts to win Florida’s 5th Congressional District, Upham decided that publicly wishing the president’s demise was the best course of action. He has since been arrested and, if convicted, could face up to 5 years in federal prison. Upham has not entered a plea yet.
Upham served in the U.S. Marine Corps from June 2021 until he was medically discharged in May 2025. Since then, he has worked as a state prosecutor for the cities of Pensacola and Jacksonville, FL. Upham ran a mostly quiet race until he posted a social media video on July 13.
In the video, Upham wore his Marine uniform and started by declaring his reason for running for Congressional office was to bring order to such an unprecedented time. Upham said we must defend ourselves from “all enemies, including enemies here at home.”
He continued saying, “There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is the anti-Christ. He is a false Messiah, and he is your enemy, and he must be killed.”
Upham explained his comments as a reaction against Trump’s AI posts, which made the president appear to look like Jesus Christ. He also cited Trump’s disagreements with the pope as proof he is the antichrist. Upham went on to describe our current state of the country as paralleling Biblical end times, stating, “America is Babylon. God and his angels have condemned our country.” (RELATED: Did Trump Commit Blasphemy by Reposting an Image of Himself Miraculously Healing?)
Ironically, Upham’s campaign slogan reads “No more insiders. No more extremism. No more excuses,” a sentiment that does not mix well with many of his comments, easily classified as extreme statements, such as promoting the killing of our nation’s leader.
Quickly after it was posted, the video received severe public scrutiny. The Marine Corps renounced his remarks, saying, “The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service’s values.”
Part of the Marine Corps oath reads, “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . ..I will obey the orders of the President of the United States.” In contrast to upholding and respecting presidential authority, Upham recently accomplished the opposite effect, especially with statements like, “Our country will be saved … he [Trump] will be killed and sent to hell.”
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao also condemned Upham’s video, posting, “Unacceptable. William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos.” The Marines’ motto is “Semper Fidelis” (“always faithful”), and Upham himself built his campaign on “God and country.” No matter how much you disagree with the current administration, publicly wishing your leader’s death seems irreconcilable to those values.
On Thursday, July 16, the U.S. Secret Service arrested and charged Upham with threatening the president of the United States, after observing Upham’s “call to arms” in his social media posts and being alerted to a message Upham sent to a third party about “declaring war” on the president.
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