What this car‑wash arrest shows about the First Amendment and criminal threats.
For some who are very angry and disillusioned, writing a manifesto is part of the process to express their dissatisfaction toward a person, a business, a political party, or a government. Unfortunately, these screeds are often found only after someone has acted. However, if you write your plans to drive to Washington, D.C., and kill the president on the window of your car at a car wash, expect law enforcement to show up sooner rather than later.
Such is the case with Daniel Rodney Swain, who was arrested at a car wash on Lake Pine Drive in Apex, North Carolina, on April 29, 2026. An attendant alerted local police that the windows of Swain’s vehicle were covered with messages written in white marker, some of which included direct threats against President Donald Trump. The South Carolina man was originally held for possession of methamphetamine, resisting a public officer, and having a fictitious and altered registration, but more serious federal charges soon followed with the arrival of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS).
While the state charges have been dropped, the criminal complaint filed by a USSS special agent means a date in a federal court is in Swain’s immediate future. Writing “HEADED TO WSH TO KILL THE PRES” on your driver’s side window is the sort of no-no that will capture the attention of the USSS and runs the risk of time in a federal prison. Having “DOUBLE TAP” above Trump’s name on the back glass probably won’t help, either.
The Message on the Passenger Side Window Wasn’t Much Better
While it’s well known that the USSS guards the President of the United States (and the President-elect), the agency also has other responsibilities. Now part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the USSS was created in 1865 by the Treasury Department to combat counterfeiting. In addition to protecting the president, vice president, their families, candidates, and visiting dignitaries, the USSS can execute federal warrants and conduct investigations into crimes against any federally insured financial institutions.
As Swain found out, the USSS takes threats against the president very seriously. According to court documents, the unemployed veteran was washing his BMW X5 at the Tidal Wave Auto Spa in Wake County, North Carolina, on April 29, 2026. An attendant noticed that Swain had written messages in white marker on the windows of his car both before and after washing it, and that there was a direct threat against President Trump on the driver’s side window.
This was confirmed by the Apex Police Department when they arrived. In addition to the plans to drive to D.C. to perform an assassination, Swain’s writing suggested that the reader go to a nearby armory, buy a gun, and “put it to your mouth and pull the trigger.” There were also numerous references to three people who had died and the government’s involvement in their deaths.
Swain’s refusal to identify himself led to the police evacuating the car wash and bringing in the bomb squad, which searched his vehicle. A K-9 unit alerted police to a pair of vials containing methamphetamine, and both his car’s registration and license plates were fictitious. Swain, who lives in Summerville, S.C., allegedly resisted arrest while being taken into custody. He was identified using an ID card that the police found on him.
The Boundaries of Free Speech Protections
While the First Amendment provides protection for what people both say and write, courts distinguish between protected political hyperbole and unprotected “true threats,” which are serious expressions of an intent to commit violence that a reasonable person would see as genuine. Prosecutors allege that Swain’s blatantly public message about heading to Washington, D.C., to kill President Trump crossed that line. He faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted of communicating a threat against the President of the United States.
The case is in the early stages, so it's not yet clear whether Swain will argue that his message was political hyperbole rather than a true threat.
Swain told the USSS that the other messages on his vehicle were in reference to his father, uncle, and grandfather, who all served in the military as well and died what he considered “wrongful deaths” under “suspicious health-related issues.” Given the seriousness of the charge he faces, it may be a while before he can resume investigating what happened to them.
Related Resources
- Does the First Amendment Protect Threats and Hate Speech? (FindLaw’s U.S. Constitution)
- Don’t Tweet Threats to the President or the Secret Service Will Come Knocking (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- SCOTUS Grants Secret Service Qualified Immunity Review (FindLaw’s Federal Courts)
