Howard Raymond Gimmey

Introduction

Howard Raymond Gimmey, a 47-year-old man from Midwest City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty on November 3, 2026, to communicating a threat in interstate commerce — the federal charge arising from a May 5, 2026, social media post in which he stated, “I’m going to kill the President….” The plea, announced by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma, admitted that Gimmey made the online comment threatening to kill the President; court records allege he posted the statement knowing it would be viewed as a threat by others. At sentencing, Gimmey faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by the FBI Oklahoma City’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the United States Secret Service, and the Midwest City Police Department.

Background Information

The post that produced the case was short and direct: on May 5, 2026, Gimmey posted a message on social media stating, “I’m going to kill the President….” Court records allege he posted it online knowing the communication would be viewed as a threat by others — the knowledge element that separates a punishable threat from protected ranting. The investigation that followed drew three agencies: the FBI’s Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Secret Service — the agency charged with protecting the President and investigating threats against him — and the local Midwest City Police Department. On October 6, 2026, five months after the post, a federal grand jury charged Gimmey with communicating a threat; he pleaded guilty four weeks later. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Dillon.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Pleaded guilty; sentencing pending. Gimmey pleaded guilty on November 3, 2026, to communicating a threat in interstate commerce, admitting he posted a threat to kill the President; sentencing has not yet occurred.

The conduct the plea admitted is the May 5, 2026, post itself — “I’m going to kill the President….” — with the court records supplying the state of mind: the allegation that Gimmey posted the statement knowing it would be read as a threat. The grand jury charged him on October 6, 2026, and the plea on November 3, 2026, removed the case from any contested posture: Gimmey admitted making the comment, and the only question the case now holds is the sentence. The Justice Department notes the case is part of the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 initiative, a White House-directed interagency effort that pairs the protection of First Amendment rights with the targeting of individuals engaged in political violence — the programmatic frame the office placed around a threat prosecution that began with five words on social media.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The institutional response was the three-agency investigation — JTTF, Secret Service, and Midwest City police — and a federal charge within five months of the post. The consequences on the record: a felony conviction admitted by plea, sentencing exposure of up to five years and a $250,000 fine, and the permanent court record of the admission. The announcement records no public statement from Gimmey or defense counsel and no separate civil proceeding; his public posture is now the plea itself. The case also sits inside a declared national enforcement initiative — NSPM-7 — which the office cited as the framework for prosecuting threats of political violence while protecting First Amendment rights, a framing that makes Gimmey’s plea part of the documented enforcement record rather than a one-off prosecution.

Current Status

Gimmey pleaded guilty on November 3, 2026, and awaits sentencing, where he faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date was not announced with the plea. Until sentenced, the conviction is final as an admission of record but unexecuted as punishment; the investigation agencies — FBI Oklahoma City JTTF, the Secret Service, and Midwest City police — have completed their work, and prosecution rests with Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Dillon. The Justice Department announcement directed readers to public filings for additional information, and no appeal, withdrawal motion, or modified plea appears in the announcement record. The disposition as announced: pleaded, awaiting sentence.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Gimmey’s plea converts a single five-word social media post into a federal felony conviction with up to five years of custody attached, and the case record — the post, the knowledge allegation, the three-agency investigation, the grand jury charge, the admission — will outlast whatever sentence the court imposes. At 47, he now stands convicted of threatening the life of the President, an offense prosecuted by the Justice Department as part of a declared initiative against political violence, and any future background check, employment screening, or firearm-related inquiry will surface a conviction whose underlying facts are a public death threat against a head of state. The supervised scrutiny that follows a federal sentence will treat the post not as an abandoned opinion but as the conduct he admitted.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Oklahoma, “Midwest City Man Pleads Guilty after Making Threat Against the President,” November 3, 2026. source