Man accused of writing Trump threat on BMW could face up to 5 years in prison
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A South Carolina man faces up to 5 years in prison on a presidential threat charge.
- A BMW with written threats and a drone was found at a car wash, prompting police response.
- Law enforcement testing found methamphetamine in containers recovered from the vehicle.
A South Carolina man could face up to five years in prison on the federal charge of threatening the president, a judge said at a hearing Monday.
Daniel Rodney Swain appeared at a short federal court hearing in Raleigh wearing a gray T-shirt and black pants, his hands handcuffed and his feet shackled. A federal prosecutor successfully asked that Swain be incarcerated until his detention hearing on Thursday.
Swain was arrested April 29 after an attendant at a car wash in Apex called 911 to report a vehicle with threatening words written on it with white lettering, according to Swain’s federal criminal complaint.
Apex Police Department officers responded and found a black BMW covered in writing that included, “HEADED TO WSH TO KILL THE PRES,” which was written on the driver’s side window.
“TELL DONALD HE IS FIRED” was written on the rear window.
Apex car wash evacuated
Police evacuated the car wash, notified the U.S. Secret Service and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which brought in the bomb squad to ensure there were no explosives in the BMW at the Tidal Wave Auto Spa on Lake Pine Drive in Apex.
Law enforcement found a drone in the car, as well as two containers of methamphetamine, the complaint states.
Swain resisted arrest, according to police. Afterward, he said he was motivated by what he believes to be the wrongful deaths of his uncle, father and grandfather, all of whom served in the military, the complaint states.
Swain was previously interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service on Jan. 1, 2025, about a threatening post on Facebook, his criminal complaint states. The post said that if the “president’s father was shot it would gather more attention.”
The federal document also flagged an April 19 post by Swain on Facebook in which he complained about all the Trump-related content he saw on his phone.
“Somebody oughta go put a round in his [expletive] head and then do it to his son and do it to his wife and do it to the rest of Congress,” he wrote, according to the criminal complaint.
After police interviewed Swain, they charged him with possession of methamphetamine, resisting an officer and having a fictitious registration in Wake County court. Officials from the Secret Service charged him with threatening the president in federal court.
When Swain appeared in Wake County court last week he said he was unemployed and a disabled veteran.
“I’m a United States Army veteran, third generation, and this is a little ridiculous,” Swain said, according to The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner ABC11 reported.
Swain’s mother told WRAL that her son has mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that arises from shocking, dangerous or terrifying experiences such as war or a physical attack.
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM.
