A jury found a man guilty of threatening President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris after he hand-delivered to Arizona federal courts a document saying he would execute whichever person won the 2024 Presidential election.
Rene Ortiz, 56, of Casa Grande, walked into the U.S. District Courthouse in Phoenix in November 2024 with a document that announced his intention to execute either Harris or Trump with three rounds he would shoot from a rifle from hundreds of yards away, according to court documents.
The document said he would be “targeting the head not the ear” of the candidate. In July 2024, Trump was struck in the ear by a would-be assassin's bullet as he spoke at a rally in rural Pennsylvania.
Ortiz was convicted after a four-day trial at the U.S. District Courthouse in Phoenix. The jury deliberated for just over an hour, according to a minute entry of the proceedings.
People are also reading…
Ortiz was scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 1. He faces a maximum 15-year sentence.
In March, Ortiz rejected a plea offer from federal prosecutors.
That deal would have given Ortiz a two-year sentence, but he could avoid prison if he agreed to take part in mental health treatment, according to a court filing from the government.
Ortiz did not respond to an email from The Republic requesting an interview.
Ortiz, according to court documents, entered the clerk’s office at the Sandra Day O’Connor federal courthouse in Phoenix on Nov. 5, 2024, with a document he wanted to be filed as a formal civil complaint.
The document, included in court filings, said that Ortiz had chosen “to execute the newly elected POTUS by firing M16A2 Service Rifle with a magazine of 6 rounds.” The shots would be fired from between 300 and 500 yards away, Ortiz’s document said.
After his name, Ortiz placed the titles: “United States Marine, Combat Veteran.” He also signed his document with the words “El Sariqueño,” a reference to Saric, a small village in northern Sonora, Mexico, about 50 miles south of the Arizona border.
Ortiz also delivered a copy to the U.S. Marshals Office, located at the courthouse, asking it to notify Trump and Harris of his complaint, documents say.
On Nov. 25, 2024, Ortiz delivered similar documents to the federal courthouse in Tucson, according to the initial criminal complaint filed against him.
Ortiz was interviewed at the offices of the U.S. Secret Service on Dec. 5, 2024. He said he would follow through on his threats “if his demands are not met,” according to the complaint against him.
Ortiz said he had been promised that the Department of Veterans Affairs would pay for his schooling if he quit working for them, but the VA did not follow through on that promise, according to the complaint.
According to a filing by Ortiz’s attorneys, the U.S. Attorney’s Office initially declined to file criminal charges “for what was decidedly a mental health concern.” But there were issues with getting Ortiz mental health treatment at the VA, the document said, leading to Ortiz’s January 2025 arrest.
Since 2024, Ortiz has filed at least eight civil complaints against various government officials, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Trump family.
His complaints, which have been quickly dismissed by judges, have involved complaints about the wall being built on the border being an eyesore and accusing Trump of treason.
Nancy Guthrie's Tucson neighbors: Life with streamers 'unbearable'
