'Not guilty': DOJ fails to convict ex-Coast Guard officer of threats to kill Trump

A jury found a retired Coast Guard officer not guilty after the Department of Justice charged him with threatening to kill President Donald Trump.

Peter Stinson, a retired lieutenant and sharpshooter, was charged in June over social media posts spanning from 2020 to 2025.

Attorneys for the Federal Public Defender's Office said Stinson's comments were clearly hyperbole. A magistrate judge had released him on bail against objections from the Justice Department.

"The weight of the evidence, on a scale from one to 10, let's just say it's not on the side of 10," Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis said at the time.

On Wednesday, a jury found Stinson not guilty after deliberating for less than a day, according to CBS correspondent Scott MacFarlane.