A Los Angeles podcaster was arrested at his Westlake home last week on federal charges accusing him of publicly calling for President Trump’s assassination in a series of online videos, then separately stalking the president’s personal attorney by posting the lawyer’s home address and harassing his wife and son.
Federal prosecutors in the Central District of California indicted 40-year-old Benjamin Azariah Southworth, a podcaster and former Christian reality TV personality, on three counts: threatening the president, cyberstalking, and telephonic harassment. He was arrested Thursday and faces up to 12 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Kill Donald Trump,” Prosecutors Say He Posted
According to the indictment, Southworth used YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and his own website between early 2026 and May to express hatred toward the president and encourage his supporters toward political violence. Prosecutors cited an April 7 Instagram video in which Southworth allegedly said, “I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump,” before adding, “Kill Donald Trump.”
In another video referenced in the indictment, Southworth allegedly depicted himself fictitiously teleporting into the Oval Office behind President Trump and raising a knife to his head as though about to stab him. Prosecutors say the posts amounted to a sustained, public campaign calling for the president’s death rather than an isolated remark.
Alleged Stalking of the President’s Lawyer’s Family
The cyberstalking charge stems from a separate campaign prosecutors say Southworth waged against an attorney who has represented President Trump personally. According to the indictment, Southworth published the lawyer’s home address along with photographs on TikTok, and from January through May sent a stream of abusive messages and voicemails to the attorney’s son while making harassing phone calls to the attorney’s wife.
Southworth had built a public profile as an LGBT podcaster and had previously appeared on a Christian-themed reality television show before pivoting to political commentary online, according to Fox News and the Los Angeles Times coverage of the case. The Justice Department has not said what specifically prompted investigators to open the case beyond describing a pattern of escalating threats reported to federal authorities.
Federal Case Moving Forward in Los Angeles
Southworth made his initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles following his arrest at his Westlake home, and the case is being prosecuted out of the Central District of California’s Los Angeles office. Threatening the president is itself a federal felony regardless of whether an attacker has the means to carry out an attack, and prosecutors routinely pursue such cases when threats are made publicly and repeatedly rather than in a single private outburst.
It was not immediately clear whether Southworth had retained an attorney or entered a plea. The Justice Department said the investigation was supported by the U.S. Secret Service, which routinely investigates threats against the president and his family.
