Authorities announced Sunday that the chilling double murder of a Wisconsin couple by their teenage son earlier this year was the beginning of a broader plot that culminated in what they say was a fourth assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
According to investigators, 17-year-old Nikita Casap of Waukesha, Wisconsin, killed his mother and stepfather in a calculated double homicide. Police say the murders were part of Casap’s effort to gain independence and gather the resources needed to launch an attack on the president. “The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carry out his plan,” FBI agents state in a recent affidavit. The teen was ordered held last week pending trial and faces two counts of first-degree homicide, along with a range of additional charges.
The FBI, working alongside federal prosecutors, believes there is probable cause to pursue charges against the teen related to plotting a presidential assassination, conspiracy, and the use of weapons of mass destruction, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. On February 28, local police conducting a wellness check at a home on Cider Hills Drive in the village of Waukesha discovered the bodies of Tatiana Casap and Donald Mayer. Both had been shot and were found buried under piles of clothing in the residence, which the suspect, Nikita Casap, also occupied. According to the criminal complaint, the 17-year-old may have remained in the home for up to 12 days with the victims’ bodies still inside.
In late March, authorities filed a criminal complaint that included testimony from a female classmate of Casap at Waukesha West High School. She reported seeing a three-page manifesto on his phone that called for the assassination of President Trump. According to the affidavit, the manifesto also contained references to bomb-making and plans to coordinate a terrorist attack. By the time of his arrest, investigators say Casap had already made partial payments for a drone and explosive materials intended for use in the planned attack.
A search warrant executed on Donald Mayer’s SUV uncovered a pried-open safe, various electronics—including an iPad belonging to the Waukesha School District—jewelry, and roughly $14,000 in cash, according to reports. Authorities say Nikita Casap drove the vehicle across state lines while gathering materials for his planned attack. Casap’s manifesto reportedly contained white supremacist ideology, including a copy of The Order of Nine Angles, a known neo-Nazi publication. He remains in custody on a $1 million bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on May 7.
President Trump has previously been the target of three other assassination attempts or plots. On July 15, 2024, he was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania. A month later, a gunman was discovered hiding in the bushes near Trump’s West Palm Beach property while he was playing golf. In February, Politico reported that authorities uncovered an Iranian plot to target Trump’s plane with surface-to-air missiles, believed to be timed around the 2024 presidential election.