A federal jury found Desiree Doreen Segari, 41, of Sarasota, guilty of interstate communication of a threat to injure, according to a March 2 announcement by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. Segari faces up to five years in federal prison, with sentencing scheduled for May 5.
The case centers on videos Segari posted to TikTok on August 17 and August 18, 2025. In the first video, she called for violence against supporters of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Segari said, “so if we all get our guns and use our second amendment right…and you see somebody with a MAGA hat, ‘pew pew’ that’s what we do, that’s the way, it’s the only way.” She used hand gestures mimicking firing a gun while making these statements. She also said, “Put them back in their basements, make them scared again to be racist, homophobic, and terrible just awful [expletive],” and “MAGA people deserve to be terrified and scared to walk in the streets because they should know that real Americans are gonna [mouths expletive] kill them.” The video was captioned: “#seemagapewpewmaga starting a new trend, hope itcatches on. Please spread the word. Share this video. Repost it.Use the hashtag all over the internet. Let’s go guys. It’s time to fight back in a potentially effective manner.”
The following day Segari posted another video repeating similar language: “See MAGA pew pew MAGA, see MAGA pew pew MAGA, see MAGA pew pew MAGA so these [expletive] know we ain’t here to play,” again using hand gestures imitating gunfire.
Segari was indicted on September 18, 2025. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore is prosecuting.
The conviction highlights ongoing concerns about threats made via social media platforms and their potential legal consequences.
Sentencing will take place in May as authorities continue efforts to address online threats.
