An outspoken Los Angeles podcaster who has repeatedly called for the assassination of President Donald Trump has been taken into federal custody following a series of online threats and alleged stalking of the presidents personal attorney and his family.
The 40-year-old host, Azariah Southworth, a self-described gay Christian based in Westlake, was arrested at his home by FBI agents after a months-long pattern of explicit threats and violent rhetoric. According to The Post Millennial, Southworth is accused not only of issuing death threats against the president, but also of stalking Trumps lawyer and the lawyers relatives, conduct detailed in court filings and first reported by the New York Post.
Federal court documents state that on April 7, Southworth posted an Instagram video in which he declared, I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump. This government is illegitimate and out of control. Its time for course correction. Kill Donald Trump." Prosecutors allege this was not an isolated incident but part of a broader campaign of incitement, both in public videos and in private communications.
As agents led him away, Southworth shouted, Donald Trump is a pedophile! The country has fallen! Authorities say he has called for Trump's assassination on multiple occasions, and that he has ranted about killing the president in private conversations in addition to his online broadcasts. In one January text exchange with an associate, he wrote, If I encounter any Trump official in-person, Im seriously afraid I will end up in Jail, before adding, But if I could Kill him, I wouldnt waste the opportunity."
Southworth also mused about channeling his anger into activism, saying, I want to funnel this rage into street art. Thats my plan, but then escalating, But GOD I want that motherf*cker and his minions dead. Court documents assert that he used his podcast and social media presence to regularly encourage violence against the president, blurring any line between protected speech and criminal threat. In a March video, he claimed, I want to practice my free speech as a survivor of conversion therapy for five years, then continued, Kill Donald Trump. Kill that mothef*cking pedophile in the White House. Kill that traitor of the United States Constitution.
In April, he posted another video depicting himself teleporting into the White House and appearing behind Trump with a raised knife, as if preparing to stab the president. On Instagram, anticipating legal consequences, Southworth recorded a message to his followers: I am making this video today in the event of my arrest. It has been a long-held belief that calling for the execution of the president of The United States will get you put on a list or arrested, he said. I have friends who are concerned this will happen to me as I have been vocal in calling for the execution of Donald Trump.
Its time for course correction, he added. Kill Donald Trump. The case underscores the growing extremism tolerated in some corners of the left, where violent fantasies against political opponents are too often excused as activism, even as federal law makes clear that direct threats against a sitting president cross a bright legal and moral line.
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