Gay Christian podcaster arrested after allegedly calling for Trump’s assassination
Benjamin Azariah Southworth (US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California)
A Gay Christian podcaster has been arrested after allegedly making threats against President Donald Trump and his personal attorney.
Benjamin Azariah Southworth, 40, was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges that accuse him of “threatening to kill the president, cyberstalking and making harassing interstate calls”, according to First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli.
Court documents obtained by the LA Times claim that Southworth sent a text in January 2025 saying: “But if I could kill him, I wouldn’t waste the opportunity,” which was allegedly in reference to Trump.
According to the New York Post, Southworth shouted “Donald Trump is a paedophile!” and “the country has fallen!” as he was led away in handcuffs by FBI agents Thursday morning.
A three-count federal grand jury indictment accuses Southworth of using his social media accounts “to publicly express his hatred toward President Trump and the President’s supporters” between January and May of this year.
In a 7 April Instagram video, he allegedly raised concerns that he would be arrested for being “vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump”.
He allegedly went on to say in the video that the “government is illegitimate and out of control” and that “it’s time for course correction. Kill Donald Trump.”
He is also alleged to have posted the home address and photo of one of the President’s personal lawyers on TikTok earlier this year, encouraging followers to “visit Trump’s personal lawyer”.
Southworth came out as gay in 2008, and in one of the videos cited in the court documents, Southworth described himself as “a survivor of conversion therapy for five years”.
On his website, Southworth describes himself as a “GLAAD‑award–nominated artivist based in Los Angeles”. He says he uses his platform to “challenge Christian nationalism, anti‑LGBTQIA+ bigotry, and Zionism”.
