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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A Texas man was apprehended after allegedly threatening on Facebook to shoot and kill federal immigrant agents.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Robert King, a U.S. citizen was taken into custody in McKinney, accused of making "terroristic threats" against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and Secretary Kristi Noem.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek: "If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you."
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Why It Matters
ICE has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate as the Trump administration ramps up deportation efforts. The agency has been granted greater authority. Threats against federal immigration authorities have become more prevalent. President Donald Trump pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants suspected of living in the country illegally. The White House has said anyone living in the country illegally is a "criminal."
What To Know
"King's alarming social media posts included intentions to "open fire" if agents are seen in his neighborhood," DHS Dallas wrote in a post on X.
"If I see ICE agents in my neighborhood, I am opening fire. It's time to stop being p****** and put the second amendment to work. ICE are not real cops, they are a secret police force with no real legal authority. Kill them." King allegedly wrote on Facebook
The arrest occurred just days after Noem reacted to another online threat made in response to the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants across the nation.
Another social media user was allegedly encouraging their followers to shoot at ICE members arriving in communities in unmarked vehicles, suggesting they could use it as a "self-defense" justification.
"Shoot at ICE agents on sight. That's right. If ICE agents are trying to take you or a loved one, shoot them on sight," TikTok user belal_donq is accused of saying in the video.
It has now been removed from TikTok.
The threats come amid heightened tensions between immigrant communities and federal immigration authorities as the administration clamps down on pro-Palestine protestors.
What People Are Saying
Noem said in a post on X: "If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
King allegedly wrote on Facebook: "I truly hope, and I mean this with all my heart, that Kristi Noem meets a horrible and agonizing demise I hope she is tried in a war criminal court with the rest of the Nazis when this is all over and I hope she is ripped apart in a gulag. Nothing less for a Nazi scum. This is America now a Nazi fascist state. Disgusting."
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek: "Like Secretary Noem said: If you threaten or attempt to harm a law enforcement officer, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Promises made, promises kept."
What Happens Next
King will go through legal proceedings.
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