The Marine Corps has denounced comments made by a Marine veteran running for Congress who posted a video of himself in uniform and made threatening comments directed at President Donald Trump.
William Upham made the comments in a roughly 6-minute video that was posted on his social media accounts earlier this week. Upham is running for Florida’s 5th Congressional District in November as a write-in candidate.
In the video, Upham accused Trump of being the “antichrist” and “the enemy of God.”
Upham also claimed the president is “your enemy and he must be killed.”
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The Marine Corps issued a statement on Tuesday condemning Upham’s “disturbing statements” and making clear that Upham was medically discharged on May 30, 2025.
“The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service’s values,” according to the Marine Corps statement, which was posted on social media.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao released a separate statement that echoed the Marine Corps’ condemnation of Upham’s comments.
“Unacceptable,” Cao wrote in a Tuesday social media post. “William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos.”
Under federal law, threatening the president is a crime that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Upham served in the Marine Corps from June 2021 until September 2025, reaching the rank of first lieutenant, according to his service record, which was provided to Task & Purpose on Wednesday.
His military occupational specialty is listed as Student Judge Advocate, and his record does not include any awards or history of deployments. His last duty assignment was the Wounded Warrior Battalion West at Camp Pendleton, California.
No information was immediately available about why Upham wore his uniform — including his name tape and lieutenant’s bars — when he appeared in the video.
Any time that currently serving troops or veterans make partisan comments while in uniform, it damages the relationship between the military and society, said Katherine Kuzminski, of the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C.
“It gives the perception that the military is a partisan institution, which it is decidedly not,” Kuzminski told Task & Purpose. “It betrays the professional military ethic that enables society to trust that those in uniform serve the nation through their oath to the Constitution.”
