Former Coast Guard lieutenant, self-identified Antifa member found not guilty of soliciting assassination of Trump

A Virginia man has been acquitted of one count of solicitation of a crime of violence in relation to posts made to BlueSky that the Department of Justice said were threats to kill President Donald Trump.

Per Bloomberg Law, the jury deliberated for around two hours on Tuesday, finding Peter Stinson, of Oakton, Virginia, not guilty. Stinson is a former Coast Guard lieutenant and a self-identified member of Antifa. 

Stinson’s defense argued that their client’s comments to social media were protected by the First Amendment, and that he never took steps to carry out an actual assassination. 

The DOJ noted Stinson’s history of posts to social media, including one in the wake of the Butler, PA attempted assassination of Trump, in which he wrote, "Three inches to the right, and the shot woulda gone through the eyeball. Practice. Practice. Practice."

The primary expert witness for the defense in the trial, psychologist Jen Golbeck, argued that the DOJ had targeted Stinson and not charged countless others who post similar comments to social media. The witness, University of Maryland professor Jen Goldbeck, said in a later interview, "That’s just incredible to me that anyone in good faith would say that the fact he posted a bunch of times he wished the president were dead is a solicitation of murder."

An affidavit accused Stinson of calling for the assassination of Trump repeatedly since 2020. A February 2020 post concluded, "The orange man must go. At any cost." In response to a user asking "You see Trump drowning, what are you throwing him?" Stinson wrote in April 2020, "This morning I feel like I would hit him in the head with an oar" and "He wants us dead. I can say the same thing about him."

In response to another user’s post later that same month, Stinson wrote, "somebody ought to do more than sue the orange mf’s *ss" and "it involves a rifle and a scope, but I can’t talk about it here." He added, "I’d be willing to pitch in $100 for a contract. Who wants to join me? We could solve the solvable part of this problem in a crack. Then, we can focus on the coronavirus itself."

In October 2020, Stinson wrote in a series of messages and replies to other posts, "I’d pull the trigger. But I’m not a good enough shot," "I’ll drive," "I’m willing to drive," and "He needs to be punched to a different reality." 

Stinson made similar posts over the years, including a January 2021 post that read, "let’s just shoot the orange and put him out of his misery," and a January 2025 post that read, "Somebody needs to do it. Somebody with the skills to do it right. Somebody with the experience. Somebody with the right tools. Somebody needs to get it done."

Stinson had also proposed that Trump be "Luigied," referring to the suspect arrested for the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and that poison be used instead.

After his arrest, Stinson was released on bail in June. Prosecutors had argued at the time that Stinson was "dangerous" to both Trump and the public.