Way back in the early '90s, I was a newspaper reporter. That entailed a lot of nights attending school board and city council meetings. Usually, nobody showed up at the city council meetings except for one or two elderly men who apparently found it thrilling content. These meetings are so boring.
I write a lot about how I just don't understand why people record themselves making credible threats and then post them to TikTok, hoping for millions of views. And then when the clip goes viral, they act surprised.
But how about combining the two: making a death threat at a city council meeting? Retired Michigan professor Wesley Arnold thought he'd put on a suit and tie, drive down to city hall, and sign up for the public comment section so that he could say that he had ordered a gun that was good for headshots, and he hoped to use it to kill President Trump. "I'm not kidding," he added.
Retired professor says he’s ordered a gun to sh**t President Trump.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 26, 2026
He said this Tuesday during a Warren City Council meeting in Michigan. He says he’s not kidding.
Arrest and prosecute this maniac immediately.
(fox2detroitwjbk on TT) pic.twitter.com/rm2sjL6guM
Libs of TikTok reports that Arnold was visited by the Secret Service.
BREAKING: Retired Michigan professor Wesley Arnold was visited by the Secret Service and had his gun taken after he said he would shoot President Trump pic.twitter.com/syrWm5MVhX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 26, 2026
Did he have any plans to travel to Washington, D.C., or Mar-a-Lago? Or was he just going to get the gun first and hope the opportunity presented itself? Oh, wait, it's not a gun, it's a telephoto lens.
While a high powered ATL 36X is a camera telephoto lens, just the way this guy said what he did, i.e. the emphasis on 'shoot' & not identifying it as a camera lens, would make me want him investigated for sure.
— Pro Libertate 🇺🇸 (@prolibertate7) February 26, 2026
I don't understand people making threats, and I don't understand Trump Derangement Syndrome. It's a very real thing.
Arrest this man. Enough of this talk! There needs to be accountability.
— JMG Living (@JMGLiving) February 26, 2026
FBI needs to investigate this man immediately!
— CJ (@DayCday2) February 26, 2026
@ATFHQ @SecretService I suppose he'll be blocked from completing any firearms purchases for a long while, and will soon have lots of law enforcement knocking on his door..
— RedBeard (@PirateBeerd) February 26, 2026
Believe them when they tell you what they are.
— CommonSenseAMust (@CommonSense2007) February 26, 2026
He thought that was so clever, he wanted it included in the minutes of the city council meeting. Stunning and brave.
I wonder what he taught to college students.
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