A federal jury has convicted a Lubbock man after he threatened to kill Secret Service agents and their families online.
A jury convicted Tristan Rene Langston, 37, on August 7 for “transmitting threats in interstate commerce” and “threatening a law enforcement officer,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice. He could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
“Targeting federal agents and their families with threats of violence is not protected speech – it is a federal crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson in the release. “This verdict reaffirms our office’s commitment to take all threats seriously and to hold accountable those who try to intimidate and terrorize our law enforcement partners.”
Langston was charged in March and is set for sentencing in November. According to the DOJ, his statements “went well beyond mere political rhetoric or bluster and constituted true threats directed at specific federal agents.”
He allegedly became “angry” with two specific Secret Service agents after they investigated an online threat he made in 2023, according to the release. In the following months, he targeted one of the agents – and his family – in online posts, and “memorialized the anger and resentment” against the agents in videos and notes on his cell phones over multiple years.
The recent charges stemmed from a February 21, 2025, post on X, where he apparently tried invoking the 2nd Amendment – which guarantees the right to bear arms – to justify his threats.
“2nd Amendment in full effect. Gonna slit the throats of agents and their families,” he wrote, according to the release.
Testimony during the trial showed Langston knew the agents would see the threat as retaliation for the initial investigation. The Secret Service investigated the case, and assistant U.S. attorneys from Lubbock prosecuted.
The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office arrested Langston in west Lubbock on February 24, according to jail records. He was remanded to federal custody.
“We commend the jury’s decision in finding Tristan Langston guilty of threatening to kill United States Secret Service agents and their families,” said Christina Foley, deputy special agent in charge of Secret Service-Dallas, in the release. “Threats against federal law enforcement officers and their loved ones are taken with the utmost seriousness, and this verdict reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting those who serve.”
Investigators arrested a man in McKinney in April after he allegedly threatened ICE agents, Gov. Greg Abbott, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Noem said on Fox News last week that ICE agents have been facing a 1000 percent increase in assaults.