Sword-Wielding Massachusetts Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill Trump, FBI Says

Andrew Emerald made multiple threats on Facebook, according to investigators.

Special agents and officers on the FBI Boston's Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Andrew D. Emerald, of Great Barrington, Mass., April 1, 2026, for allegedly threatening to injure and kill President Donald Trump. FBI

FBI agents arrested a sword-wielding Massachusetts man on April 1 for allegedly posting messages on Facebook threatening to injure and kill President Donald Trump.

Agents and officers with the FBI Boston’s Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force forced open the door of Andrew Emerald’s Great Barrington apartment at 6 a.m. with a battering ram after he didn’t answer, according to court documents.

Emerald, 45, then appeared inside the residence brandishing a long, metallic sword in one hand and a sheath in the other, the agents said.

“Emerald refused the agents’ directions to drop his sword and stated repeatedly … that the agents would have to shoot him,” the FBI wrote in a court affidavit. “Emerald then shut the front door and deadbolted it, preventing the agents from entering the apartment without a further breach.”

The FBI called local police and an FBI crisis negotiation team to assist in the operation. Emerald answered a call from a local police officer who asked him to leave the residence, which he agreed to do, the FBI reported. He was arrested without further incident.

The agents searched Emerald’s property after the arrest and found several weapons.

“After the FBI took Mr. Emerald into custody, we executed a search warrant at his residence and seized multiple bladed weapons from his home,” the FBI’s Boston field office posted on X.

Agents posted photos of five swords and knives collected during the search.

Emerald was scheduled to appear in court later in the day.

The accused was indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of interstate transmission of threatening communications on March 19.

Court documents filed by federal prosecutors detailed an investigation of Emerald’s online activities, with FBI special agents visiting and interviewing Emerald at his home in Bourne, Massachusetts, in 2018 after receiving a tip about a possible mass shooting.

A law enforcement agent holds one of several bladed weapons seized by authorities after the arrest of Andrew Emerald in Great Barrington, Mass., on April 1, 2026, on charges that he threatened President Donald Trump in Facebook posts. U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts/Handout via Reuters

The tip led agents to investigate a statement Emerald posted on Facebook about Trump’s public execution. Emerald told the agents he would never post about politics again, according to the agents.

Emerald voluntarily requested to be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which would result in a denial of his right to buy, possess, and use firearms, the agents said in the court affidavit.

Then, in May 2025, a concerned citizen reported a tip to the FBI about Emerald’s Facebook account, according to the court affidavit.

When confronted by another Facebook user about his threats, Emerald allegedly also threatened to kill the FBI agents if they came after him, the investigation alleges.

The charge of interstate transmission of threatening communications allows for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

Emerald was unable to be reached, and it is not clear if he has retained an attorney.