May 2026 TorchStone Global Monthly Executive Protection Report
TorchStone Global believes that broader situational awareness and intelligence are key to providing quality executive protection—whether the principal is a Fortune 500 CEO, international celebrity, or local city council member. Our monthly executive protection report catalogues incidents we have captured through our open-source searches that are relevant to the practice of executive protection. We hope the report will serve as a centralized source of threat activity to provide insight into current trends in threats to high-profile individuals.
For more information on customized threat tracking for at-risk individuals, threat assessments, executive protection, or other security services, please contact us.
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Summary
The TorchStone Executive Protection Report tracked 22 domestic and 12 international security incidents or updates to prior incidents impacting high-profile individuals during the month of May 2026. Below are some key incidents of note over the past month.
- This reporting period saw a notable surge in threats against state government officials, with TorchStone recording seven such incidents, five of which occurred in May—the highest monthly total since November 2025. The elevated threat environment coincided with an active primary election cycle, as several gubernatorial campaigns became direct targets. In California, campaign signage belonging to gubernatorial candidate David Cohen was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on two separate occasions (April 28, May 5) ahead of the state’s June 2 primary. In Georgia, where the Republican primary was held in May, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brad Raffensperger’s campaign received a four-page handwritten manifesto depicting his photo with the word “Boom” across his face and outlining an intent to kill him. The following day, a suspicious object was discovered at a Macon airport where Raffensperger was scheduled to appear. Lastly, in Florida, a Port Charlotte man was arrested on May 27 after posting a threat to kill gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds on X; investigators identified and located the suspect using account records obtained from the platform.
- May 2026 also reflected a continuation regarding how artificial intelligence is increasingly seeping into the threat landscape both as an enabler of threatening behavior and as a source of grievance for potential threat actors. For example, Russian Member of Parliament Adam Delimkhanov published an AI-generated image depicting Buckingham Palace being stormed by invaders, posted in direct response to King Charles III’s address to the U.S. Congress urging continued support for Ukraine. Delimkhanov framed the image as a symbolic threat on behalf of President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, city officials in Fort Meade, Florida received a series of threats resulting from their involvement in a local data center construction project. The city issued a public statement reminding residents that threats against elected officials and public servants carry misdemeanor and felony charges. This statement underscores the frequency with which local officials are now being targeted for their involvement in contentious AI infrastructure initiatives, which TorchStone also touched on in last month’s report.
Please find the full list of incidents categorized below.
Business Executive
| Location: Raleigh, NC | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
April 23, 2026: Authorities in North Carolina arrested a 24-year-old man after he allegedly posted a social media threat to shoot the Duke Energy CEO during an NC State University commencement ceremony. Investigators charged him with felony communicating threats after identifying the target as Duke Energy CEO Harry Sideris.
Celebrity
| Location: Montecito, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
April 13, 2026: Santa Barbara County law enforcement officers arrested a suspect on prowling charges after he attempted to enter a Montecito, CA home associated with Kendall Jenner. Residential security staff met the suspect at the property gate and prevented him from entering. The suspect allegedly attempted to enter multiple homes in the area looking for Ms. Jenner, leading to multiple reports of suspicious activity. This is at least the fourth stalking incident targeting Ms. Jenner over the past ten years.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
May 1, 2026: Police arrested a 35-year-old suspect after an alleged shooting near Chris Brown’s Tarzana-area residence. The incident reportedly stemmed from a dispute with a woman and involved a CO2-style handgun, not a traditional firearm.
| Location: Porto, Portugal | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
May 8, 2026: Jan Bednarek, a 30-year-old Polish professional soccer player and defender for FC Porto, reportedly returned home with his family at approximately 9:30 p.m. and discovered an apparent burglary in progress. Bednarek had attended an art exhibition earlier that evening with his wife and young daughter. Local authorities are investigating the reported armed robbery.
| Location: Gonder, Haryana, India | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
May 13, 2026: Gunmen opened fire outside of entertainer Diljit Dosanjh’s home in an act of intimidation. Affiliates of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the shooting and that they intended to “warn” Dosanjh due to allegations of sexual misconduct made against his band.
| Location: Tel Aviv, Israel | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
May 13, 2026: A doctor and social media influencer in his 30s suffered serious stab wounds during an attack inside his Tel Aviv apartment early on May 13. Paramedics treated the victim at the scene before transporting him to a hospital, while police arrested a suspect in his 20s who reportedly knew the victim. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack.
| Location: Palm Beach, FL | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
May 14, 2026: Social media influencer and President Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, obtained a restraining order against a 26-year-old man, Gabriel Garza Jr., after alleging he repeatedly harassed her in the Palm Beach County area. A judge extended the order through May 2027, prohibiting the man from coming within 500 feet of her home, workplace, or the University of Miami, where she plans to attend school. The order also bars him from attending her events and requires him to surrender any firearms. The incident follows a separate 2025 security breach involving another individual who allegedly attempted to contact her at Mar-a-Lago.
| Location: Nyon, Switzerland | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
May 23, 2026: Swiss media reported a claim that Formula 1 great Alain Prost suffered a head injury when a masked gang raided his home. The gang members forced one of Prost’s family members to open a safe and managed to escape the premises after stealing an unknown quantity of items. A multinational investigation is ongoing.
| Location: Ludhiana, Punjab, India | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 25, 2026: Indian singer Diljit Dosanjh received a threatening email to blow up his house in Ludhiana. Threats were similarly made by the same person to blow up the Ludhiana mayor’s house and office.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
May 29, 2026: A court granted a restraining order to members of the Kardashian-Jenner family after they reported ongoing concerns about a man who allegedly fixated on Kylie Jenner and repeatedly attempted to contact the family. Court filings state that he had made multiple efforts to communicate with them, appeared near their residences on several occasions, and attempted to access or approach properties owned by or associated with the family. The family sought legal protection through the courts, and a judge issued the order to limit any further contact, requiring the individual to stay away from the family’s homes and workplaces, and prevent additional alleged harassment.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
May 29, 2026: Sabrina Carpenter filed for a restraining order after reporting that an individual repeatedly showed up at her Los Angeles home and engaged in concerning behavior, including attempts to approach or enter the property. She submitted court documents seeking protection and described incidents captured on home security systems that showed the person near her residence. A judge later issued a temporary restraining order the same day the filing was submitted, restricting the individual from contacting her or coming near her home.
Federal Government
| Location: Woodburn, OR | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
November 12, 2025: A man left a threatening voicemail for an unspecified U.S. Senator. In the voicemail, the suspect claimed he would personally kill the senator and “put a bullet in [their] head.” Federal police apprehended the suspect, and he pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening a federal official on May 28, 2026.
| Location: Apex, NC | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Public Area |
April 29, 2026: Police in Apex, North Carolina, evacuated the Tidal Wave Auto Spa after a man allegedly made violent public threats, including threats targeting President Donald Trump, prompting a multi-agency response and a bomb squad search. Authorities detained the individual at the scene and opened an investigation, confirming there was no ongoing threat to the public.
| Location: Wilkinsburg, PA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 1, 2026: A man left multiple threatening voicemails to the office of an unspecified member of Congress between April 18–29. The first voicemail featured a threat targeting the member of Congress, his daughter, and “all the 1,200 billionaires in this country.” The next voicemail, left over a week later, urged the member of Congress to kill President Donald Trump. The state and federal police arrested the man on May 1.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 3, 2026: Russian MP Adam Delimkhanov published an AI-generated image of Buckingham Palace being stormed by invaders in response to King Charles III’s address to the United States Congress in which he urged continued support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia. While Delimkhanov is not a particularly influential figure in Russia, his suggestion that his constituents would attack Buckingham Palace on behalf of President Vladimir Putin highlights Russia’s willingness to incite and justify attacks against British leaders. The MP criticized the King as “a madman who called for the Third World War.”
| Location: Washington, DC | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
May 4, 2026: Secret Service agents exchanged gunfire with an armed individual in a street that Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed through moments earlier. The agents encountered the assailant while patrolling the White House’s outer perimeter.
| Location: Norfolk, England | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Home |
May 6, 2026: Police in Norfolk, England arrested a man on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and threatening Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor while walking his dogs near his home. British media reported that a man wearing a ski mask ran toward the ex-royal while shouting abuse. A protection officer escorting Mountbatten-Windsor quickly ushered him into a nearby car and left the area. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
| Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Office |
May 7, 2026: Police in the Netherlands report that an explosion damaged the headquarters of the country’s largest political party in The Hague, after someone threw a firework-based device through the building’s letter slot during a meeting. Officers secured the area, arrested a suspect shortly after the blast, and launched a wider investigation into the motive behind the attack, which caused damage but no injuries.
| Location: Coral Gables, FL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
| Location: Ganze, Kenya | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Restricted Area |
May 25, 2026: Kenyan police reshuffled President William Ruto’s security team after a man carrying what appeared to be a Bible bypassed security and briefly approached Ruto during a public event in eastern Kenya. Bodyguards quickly restrained the man, and no injuries were reported. Police launched an investigation into the breach, which renewed concerns over security at presidential rallies following similar incidents earlier this year.
State Government
| Location: San Jose, CA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
April 28, 2026: A campaign sign belonging to California gubernatorial candidate David Cohen was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti depicting the Star of David. Another sign belonging to Cohen was similarly defaced on May 5.
| Location: Jasper, IN | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
April 30, 2026: Police arrested a man for posting violent threats targeting Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith on social media. The man posted the threats on an unspecified platform owned by Meta—likely either Facebook or Instagram. Beckwith noted that one of the man’s threatening posts featured a graphic image of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
| Location: Lebanon, PA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 7, 2026: Pennsylvania State Police charged a Lebanon County man after investigators said he posted threats on the social media platform X targeting multiple Democratic state lawmakers, including messages that referenced shootings and a planned “operation.” Authorities stated they arrested him, held him on $250,000 bail, and continued their investigation into the social media posts and related evidence.
| Location: Atlanta, GA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 11, 2026: Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brad Raffensperger’s campaign team received a manifesto detailing an individual’s intent to assassinate him. Earlier on the same day, police investigated a suspicious object at an airport where Raffensperger was scheduled to stop. Although it is currently unclear whether the bomb scare and the manifesto were connected or not, Raffensperger’s campaign has accordingly increased its security measures.
| Location: Baton Rouge, LA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 11, 2026: Louisiana State Senator Jay Morris reportedly received 150 threatening voicemails in response to accusations that he used a racial slur towards a Black partisan official in a recent public hearing. Notably, one of the callers threatened to orchestrate a “mass shooting” at Morris’ office.
| Location: Philadelphia, PA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 18, 2026: A local man threatened to throw Pennsylvania State Representative Tarik Khan “into a wood chipper” in a voicemail left to his office phone. Police traced the suspect’s phone number to his social media accounts and arrested him shortly thereafter.
| Location: Port Charlotte, FL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 26, 2026: Police arrested a man for threatening to kill Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds in a post on X. Authorities located the man via the phone number associated with his X account.
Local Government
| Location: Fort Meade, FL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
| Location: Buffalo, NY | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
May 1, 2026: A man threatened Buffalo Deputy Mayor Eugenio Russi with a knife after he called him out for urinating in public. Russi managed to escape into a government building and contact police; however, the suspect discarded the knife before authorities investigated him, and Russi declined to press charges. The knife was recovered later in the day, and police proceeded to arrest the suspect the next Monday.
| Location: Coventry, UK | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
May 6, 2026: A disgruntled resident aggressively approached West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker while he was canvassing. The resident accused Parker of trespassing and continued to follow him even as he left the area.
| Location: Norwich, CT | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 14, 2026: A man posted multiple threatening and racist comments targeting Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh Khalsa on a Facebook post. After community members informed authorities of the incident, police identified and arrested the man later in the week.
| Location: San Antonio, TX | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 14, 2026: A man left a voicemail for the office of San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones claiming that he would “have a Mexican drug cartel plant a bomb” on the premises. Police successfully traced the man’s phone number and apprehended him shortly thereafter.
| Location: Cubarral, Colombia | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
May 16, 2026: Gunmen killed former Mayor Rogers Devia and his aide Eder Cardona in an area contested by armed groups. Devia, who governed Cubarral from 2020 to 2023 and supported presidential candidate Abelardo de La Espriella of the National Salvation Movement, died in the attack about 105 miles south of Bogotá. Officials warned the killings could undermine political participation ahead of Colombia’s May 31 presidential election amid ongoing violence involving rival armed groups.
| Location: Piura, Peru | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
May 21, 2026: Hitmen fatally shot Veintiséis de Octubre District Mayor Victor Hugo Febre as he drove by a public park. The Peruvian National Police continue to investigate the shooting; the hitmen have not yet been identified.
Community Leader
No Incidents to Report.