Bridgton man charged with threatening to 'shoot' Trump
Kevin Bell, 46, walked into a local restaurant and began speaking with Special Agent Bradford Nunan of the United States Secret Service. Though Nunan was wearing plain clothes and driving an unmarked vehicle, Bell spotted him as a law enforcement officer after asking restaurant staff whom the vehicle belonged to, the officer said in the criminal complaint.
Bell allegedly told Nunan about previous encounters with law enforcement and several social media posts that he said were flagged by the Secret Service and the FBI and "got him in trouble," before making a threat against Trump, Nunan said.
"I wanted to shoot (former President George W.) Bush but didn't, but now Trump is in and I don't care for him," Nunan quoted Bell as saying. He allegedly added "I'll try to shoot him" or "I'll just shoot him."
Bell is charged with making a threat against the president, which is a Class D, felony-level crime, according to court documents. He faces up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The U.S. District Court in Portland issued an arrest warrant for Bell Monday, two days after the alleged threats.
Witnesses, including Nunan, described Bell's behavior leading up to the conversation as odd, according to the complaint. Bell was taken into protective custody in February after threatening to kill his psychiatrist, Nunan said. In 2023, he threatened to "overdose on Zoloft" on a flight to Kansas City, Missouri, to force an emergency landing, Nunan said.
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