Indiana man arrested after online threats to ‘gut’ Elon Musk, ‘plant a bomb’ in his house

Indiana State Police said Texas authorities had contacted them regarding an X account that allegedly belongs to Cherry, who they believed resides in southern Indiana. Authorities said that Cherry had posted multiple threats directed at Musk earlier in February. Indiana State Police detectives located Cherry in Clarksville, Indiana, where he was taken into custody without incident and was transferred to the Sellersburg Post for additional questioning.

Detectives with the Indiana State Police also requested a search warrant for Cherry’s Palmyra residence, which was granted. Authorities confiscated a handgun, an AR-15-style rifle, ammunition, and a ballistic vest from the residence.

In an arrest affidavit, Detective Steven R. Peyton said that the threats against Musk were discovered "via proactive online monitoring by online platform X." The first flagged post was dated December 6, 2024 and read, "We’re gunning you down, next Muskrat" in response to a post from Musk.

The next post, dated January 22, 2025, read, "I’ve got ennough bullets for his b*tch a** and all the rest of you manchildren" in response to a video about Andrew Tate.

Two posts were issued on February 3, with the first reading, "You’ve broken the law. You’re on the hit list" and the second reading, "You’re robbing the American people. We will gut you and parade your corpse through the streets," both in response to posts from Musk.

The final post was dated February 16 and stated, "I am going to plant a bomb in Elon Musk’s house."

When confronted by authorities at the Batteries Plus location he worked at, Cherry told authorities that "he made those posts online due to him trying to be 'edgy' and get a reaction out of people," the detective said in the affidavit.

The affidavit added, "David explained that he runs an online business called Red Pawn Dynamics where he sells T-shirts, patches, and armor plate carriers. David further explained that much of the business is anti-government rhetoric on the patches and t-shirts. He stated he sells these as a marketing gimmick."

Among the patches sold by the company are one bearing resemblance to Elon Musk at Trump’s inauguration viewing in Washington, DC, with a gun sight icon over the figure’s head. Another read, "Hamas Air Cavalry," a reference to the hang gliders used by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas during their October 7 attack on Israel that left over 1,200 people dead. Others read, "Local Politician Hunting Club" and "Slinging Lead ’Til They’re Dead."

Antifa has fundraised for Cherry after his arrest, writing in a post, "This arrest demonstrates the current administration’s approach to dissent: which is to silence and sow fear. Let’s show them we aren’t afraid by supporting our comrade in his time of need." As of Thursday evening, the GoFundMe has raised over $4,100.

Cherry has pleaded not guilty and was released from jail after posting a $2,500 bond, per WAVE.

Cherry’s lawyer, Bart Betteau, said, "There’s no question that one of the elements will be concerning political speech. Political speech has kind of the highest place in our constitutional hierarchy of what’s allowed, and there’s no question what the state says may have happened would be political speech."

Betteau added, "What they say he did is just made some statements, so whenever that’s the case, that’s the whole criminal charge the First Amendment is always the most important."

David Allen June Cherry Arrest Affidavit by Hannah Nightingale on Scribd