A North Texas man faces federal charges after allegedly posting a series of violent threats online, including vows to shoot immigration agents and calling for the deaths of elected officials.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that 35-year-old Robert King’s threats escalated in tone and frequency over several weeks, culminating in a post on March 29.
“If I see ICE agents in my neighborhood I’m 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 wrote in that post, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
The complaint also alleges King targeted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with threats. King reportedly called Abbott a “monster” and wrote that he hoped the governor would “burn alive from a Molotov cocktail.” He also referred to Noem as a “Nazi,” the complaint states.
Additionally, King acknowledged the increasing aggression in his posts, writing, “Some of my friends have noted that my rhetoric is growing increasingly more violent. Yes.”
Authorities arrested King in McKinney on April 2, where he was reportedly living in his car at the time. He now faces federal charges for threatening law enforcement and elected officials, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
While King’s threats did not escalate to real-world violence, officials said the rhetoric warranted immediate action.
Acting U.S. Attorney Meacham praised the collaborative efforts of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, and the McKinney Police in tracking King’s posts and apprehending him.
King appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver earlier this week and remains in custody. His detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 9, at 1 p.m. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.