Teenager charged with killing mother and stepfather in alleged plan to assassinate Trump

California: A Wisconsin teenager has been charged in the killing of his mother and stepfather in what federal authorities allege was an attempt to obtain the money and autonomy he believed was necessary for a plot to kill US President Donald Trump and overthrow the government.

Nikita Casap, 17, was arrested last month in the deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, 35, and stepfather, Donald Mayer, 51, according to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies at the family’s home in Waukesha, about 27 kilometres south-west of Milwaukee, after receiving a call on February 28 requesting a welfare check, the department said.

Nikita Casap believed the assassination of Donald Trump would “foment a political revolution in the United States”, federal investigators allege.Credit: AP

According to federal documents unsealed on Friday (Saturday AEST), the fatal shootings were part of a plan by Casap, who identified with a right-wing terrorist network known as the Order of Nine Angels, to assassinate Trump in what he believed would “foment a political revolution in the United States”, federal investigators allege.

Casap also paid, at least in part, for a drone and explosives that he planned to use in an attack, according to the documents, which were filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Casap’s lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment.

A self-described “manifesto”, found on Casap’s phone and detailed in the federal documents, allegedly contained images and praise of Adolf Hitler, as well as instructions to others to make bombs.

“By getting rid of the president and perhaps the vice president, that is guaranteed to bring in some chaos,” Casap allegedly wrote.

According to federal documents, sheriff’s deputies found the body of Tatiana Casap covered in blankets on February 28 while responding to a call from Mayer’s mother, who said she had been unable to contact the family, and that the younger Casap had not been at school in two weeks.

During a secondary search of the residence, deputies found Mayer’s body also covered in blankets, according to the documents. They also located a receipt for a .357 Magnum handgun, which was not in the home.

Based on mobile phone records, security footage and witness statements, authorities determined that Mayer was killed on February 11 at about 6.30pm, and that Tatiana Casap was killed about two hours later, according to the documents.

Security camera footage taken on February 12 showed Nikita Casap, who was travelling with the family dog, at a truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, in Mayer’s car, according to the documents.

On February 28, Mayer’s car was listed as stolen. That day, officers with the WaKeeney, Kansas, Police Department stopped Casap and saw a .357 Magnum handgun on the front passenger floorboard, according to the documents.

Officers also found ammunition, the wallets and phones of his mother and stepfather and “large amounts” of cash in dollars and euros.

Casap was charged with theft and possession of a firearm. He was later charged with several other felonies, including two counts of first-degree homicide and two counts of hiding a corpse, according to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department. He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 7.

Separately, Pennsylvania state authorities arrested a 38-year-old Harrisburg man they alleged set fire to the governor’s mansion while Governor Josh Shapiro and his family slept, forcing them to evacuate early on Sunday before the blaze severely damaged part of the building.

The man, identified as Cody Balmer, 38, jumped a fence and managed to evade state troopers after he broke into the building, authorities alleged, adding that he had used homemade incendiary devices. He fled the scene and was arrested in Harrisburg on Sunday afternoon, officials said at a news conference.

Balmer is in custody and is expected to be charged with attempted murder, arson and terrorism. Law enforcement officials said they could not provide any information about a motive.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.