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Left: Andrew Walter Sandvik (Fargo Police Department). Right: President Donald Trump speaks during a luncheon with African leaders successful the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, successful Washington (AP Photo/Evan Vucci).
A North Dakota antheral has admitted to threatening President Donald Trump by informing him that not adjacent the astir trusted agents tasked with protecting him could bash so.
Andrew Walter Sandvik has pleaded blameworthy to knowingly and willfully making a threat to instrumentality the beingness of, to kidnap, and to inflict bodily harm upon the president of the United States, a national plea statement reviewed by Law&Crime states. Sandvik was 47 years aged erstwhile helium was charged successful November 2025 with influencing a national authoritative by menace and threatening the vice president.
According to the plea agreement, connected Aug. 30, 2025, Sandvik posted connected Facebook, "Trump I americium threatening your full existence! Your SS cannot support you from me!"
The suspect admitted that "a tenable idiosyncratic would presumption the connection arsenic containing a existent menace to the President" and that "he posted the connection for the intent of issuing a existent menace and with cognition that the connection would beryllium viewed arsenic a existent threat," the tribunal papers adds.
The plea statement states that owed to Sandvik's plea, prosecutors volition driblet the remaining charges. The November 2025 indictment shows helium was charged with 3 counts of threats against the president of the U.S. and 1 number of threats against the vice president of the U.S.
If Sandvik violates the presumption of his plea agreement, "engages successful immoderate further transgression activity," oregon doesn't amusement up for his sentencing hearing, the U.S. "will beryllium entitled to reinstate antecedently dismissed charges."
On Sept. 4, 2025, a Fargo Police Department detective reported Sandvik for making "concerning online posts regarding violence" directed toward Trump and instrumentality enforcement officers, a transgression affidavit successful the lawsuit stated. The papers added that the posts contained a illustration representation of idiosyncratic who "strongly resembles" Sandvik wearing a beanie hat.
After officers learned astir the anticipation that Sandvik whitethorn person been gathering a bomb, they spoke with him. And connected Sept. 17, 2025, investigators learned the fishy had allegedly made "more concerning" posts astir Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.
"Secret Service it is nary concealed I americium your biggest menace you amended get present fast," work 1 post, with different calling for the FBI, CIA, and overseas quality agencies to "come get me!"
"Trump, Can You Feel My Footsteps Coming?" stated different post, followed by the words, "Death is present marching towards the failed and anemic Donald Trump!" Sandvik besides allegedly posted, "Patel I[']m waiting for you."
Sandvik was arrested, and a justice issued an bid of detention for him aft prosecutors warned they believed helium was mentally unstable and a apt menace to others, arsenic Law&Crime previously reported. Prosecutors besides asked that the suspect acquisition a psychiatric evaluation, utilizing grounds from Sandvik's household members provided to national agents to effort to person the court.
A household subordinate reportedly told the FBI that implicit the summer, Sandvik claimed helium was "directly communicating with God" and had been "assigned tasks to execute astatine God's request." Investigators noted that these statements were accordant with his societal media posts.
Federal prosecutors accidental successful the plea statement that nether its terms, Sandvik faces a maximum punishment of 5 years successful situation with 3 years of supervised merchandise and a $250,000 fine. They will, however, urge "a condemnation astatine the debased extremity of the applicable Guideline range."
A sentencing day was not instantly listed connected the docket.
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