Federal prosecutors say a New York man posted videos to social media threatening to shoot U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and suggested he might also kill President Trump, then admitted he had already traveled to multiple states trying to find her.

Daniel Kretsinger, of Hauppauge, New York, was taken into custody on August 11 after a criminal complaint charged him with transmitting a threat to injure a person across state lines, a federal offense that carries up to five years in prison. A magistrate judge then released him, over the government's objection, to an inpatient psychiatric treatment program, where he must remain, the New York Post reported.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York earlier this month, lays out a pattern that goes beyond a keyboard outburst. Kretsinger allegedly posted two videos to X on June 30, replying directly to a post from Pirro's account. In the first, he appeared shirtless and visibly enraged.

Kretsinger's videos spelled out specific, graphic threats

The language in the criminal complaint leaves little room for ambiguity. In one video, Kretsinger allegedly said:

"Because you're such a lying despicable piece of s***, I'm specifically targeting you when I come to Washington, D.C., and put a bullet directly between your eyes c***."

He then turned his aim toward the president:

"And if Trump keeps up his bulls*** I may kill the president too."

In a second video, he continued:

"I'm gonna come to DC very f***in soon sweetheart and I'm gonna put a bullet in your f***in head. I love you, you evil lying dirt bag thieving f***ing b***!"

These were not vague rants. They named a destination, described a weapon, and identified two specific public officials. Pirro serves as the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., a role that has placed her at the center of politically charged federal cases. She has drawn both praise and criticism in that position, including a public rebuke from President Trump over a dropped vandalism case, but none of that justifies the conduct described in this complaint.

He admitted traveling to three locations hunting for Pirro

Law enforcement located Kretsinger on July 9 and interviewed him. He acknowledged that the X account where the videos appeared was his. More alarming, he admitted he had previously traveled to Washington, D.C., Florida, and Long Island "in efforts to find" Pirro.

That detail transforms the case from an online threat into something closer to stalking. A man who records himself promising to shoot a federal prosecutor, then concedes under questioning that he has already crossed state lines looking for her, is not blowing off steam. He is describing a plan, and confirming he has acted on parts of it.

Despite the interview on July 9, an arrest warrant was not issued until August 7. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of New York "earlier this month," and U.S. Marshals took Kretsinger into custody four days after the warrant dropped. The timeline raises a natural question: what happened in the nearly month-long gap between the interview and the warrant? The criminal complaint, as described in public reporting, does not answer that.

The broader pattern of threats against public officials has become a persistent concern for law enforcement across administrations. Trump himself has publicly broken with Pirro on at least one prosecutorial decision, a reminder that political disagreement, even sharp disagreement, operates in a completely different universe from death threats.

A magistrate freed him over prosecutors' objections

Perhaps the most troubling detail in the case is what happened after the arrest. A magistrate judge released Kretsinger to an inpatient psychiatric treatment program, overruling the government's request to keep him detained. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York confirmed to the Post that Kretsinger "was released by a magistrate judge, over the government's objection, to an inpatient psych treatment program, where he must remain."

The government wanted him held. The judge disagreed. The public is left to trust that an inpatient facility can contain a man who posted graphic assassination threats against two of the most prominent figures in the federal government, and who has already demonstrated a willingness to travel in pursuit of at least one of them.

Pirro's office responded with a measured statement. A spokesperson said: "No one should ever be threatened or targeted for violence. Public officials are no exception, and we commend the United States Marshals Service for its swift action." The statement credited the Marshals but did not address the magistrate's release decision.

Kretsinger did not respond to the Post's request for comment. The name of the magistrate judge who ordered his release was not disclosed in the reporting. Nor was the specific psychiatric facility identified.

The case comes at a moment when security around federal officials and administration figures remains a live concern. Threats against prosecutors, judges, and elected officials have escalated across the political spectrum in recent years. Federal law treats such threats seriously, the statute Kretsinger is charged under carries a maximum five-year sentence, but the deterrent effect depends on whether the system follows through.

Five years is the maximum, but the system already blinked

Kretsinger faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted. That is the statutory ceiling for transmitting a threat to injure a person across state lines. Whether he sees anything close to that sentence, or whether the psychiatric release becomes the template for how this case is handled, remains to be seen.

The facts in the complaint are not subtle. Two videos. Named targets. A described weapon. A stated destination. And a suspect who admitted he had already traveled to three locations looking for one of those targets. Prosecutors wanted him behind bars pending trial. A federal system that takes threats against its own officials seriously should not need a second incident to justify that position.

When a man tells you exactly what he plans to do, names the target, names the city, and then confirms he has already gone looking, the system's job is to believe him before someone gets hurt, not after.