WESTLAKE MAN INDICTED ON CHARGES OF THREATENING PRESIDENT TRUMP AND CYBERSTALKING PRESIDENT’S PERSONAL LAWYER

LOS ANGELES — A 40-year-old Los Angeles man has been arrested on a three-count federal grand jury indictment alleging that he threatened to kill President Donald Trump and conducted a months-long campaign of cyberstalking and harassment directed at the President’s personal lawyer and members of that lawyer’s family.

Benjamin Azariah Southworth, 40, of the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, was arrested September 3 and charged with one count of threats against the President, one count of cyberstalking, and one count of harassing telephone calls in interstate communications. Federal prosecutors identified Southworth as a one-time podcaster.

The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on September 2. Southworth was expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles following his arrest.

According to the indictment, Southworth allegedly used accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, along with a website, between January and May 2026 to publish material expressing hostility toward President Trump and his supporters, encourage harassment, and threaten violence against the President.

Federal prosecutors allege that the conduct escalated beyond hostile political commentary into explicit threats against the President’s life.

On April 7, 2026, Southworth allegedly uploaded an Instagram video in which he said he had publicly called for President Trump’s execution and then issued a direct statement calling for Trump to be killed. The statements form part of the conduct underlying the federal threats charge.

Three months earlier, Southworth allegedly targeted an attorney identified in the indictment as Victim 1, who had served as President Trump’s personal lawyer.

According to prosecutors, Southworth posted Victim 1’s home address on TikTok along with a photograph of the attorney and another photograph showing the attorney’s residence. The post also contained a hostile statement directed toward people Southworth characterized as traitors.

The allegations involving the attorney did not end with that post.

Between January and May, prosecutors allege Southworth repeatedly directed abusive online and voicemail messages toward Victim 2, the attorney’s son, while also making harassing telephone calls to Victim 3, the attorney’s wife.

Taken together, the indictment alleges separate but related conduct involving a threat against the sitting President, online targeting of his attorney, publication of residential information, communications directed toward the attorney’s son, and telephone harassment involving the attorney’s wife.

The cyberstalking charge is legally distinct from the presidential-threat count and relates to the alleged course of online conduct directed at the President’s personal lawyer and members of that lawyer’s family.

Southworth’s third count involves harassing telephone calls in interstate communications, reflecting prosecutors’ allegation that telephone communications were also used as part of the broader course of conduct.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department intends to pursue individuals accused of making violent threats against the President, including threats communicated through online platforms.

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California said threats of violence against elected officials are treated as serious criminal matters and emphasized that political violence is not tolerated under federal law.

Armando Marquez, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Los Angeles Field Office, said protecting the President remains the agency’s highest priority and that threats made online can lead to federal enforcement action. He also credited cooperation among the Secret Service, FBI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The case also illustrates the distinction federal authorities draw between political rhetoric and conduct alleged to constitute criminal threats or cyberstalking.

FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy said cyberstalking and threats of murder are treated as serious criminal offenses rather than mere political rhetoric under the law.

Southworth has not been convicted. The indictment contains allegations that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and he is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in federal court.

If convicted, Southworth faces a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison for the presidential-threat charge, up to five years for cyberstalking, and up to two years for the interstate telephone-harassment count. Those figures represent statutory maximums rather than a prediction of any sentence that could ultimately be imposed.

The United States Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.

Assistant United States Attorney William Kanellis of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section is prosecuting the matter for the Central District of California.

The case now moves through the federal judicial process, where prosecutors will be required to establish the allegations supporting each charge and Southworth will have the opportunity to contest the government’s evidence.

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