EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel working in Washington state were targeted with online threats from a man on social media, the Department of Homeland Security said.
James Adrian Warren is under investigation after he allegedly shared posts on Oct. 22 in which he specifically targeted the Ferndale, Washington, ICE office, which sits near the U.S.-Canadian border, DHS said.
In his post, Warren called ICE "Nazis" and "the Gestapo." He also said he would begin observing, tailing, recording and reporting ICE employees to "make life harder for ICE here in Whatcom County."
"These types of threats against our brave ICE law enforcement officers and their families are disgusting. These officers risk their lives every day to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists and gang members from our communities. Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi Gestapo, the secret police and slave patrols has consequences," said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
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"The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters," she added. "They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop."
In his post, Warren allegedly wrote: "I have also never been more ready to fight with everything that I've got than I am now."
He added that ICE needs to be "reminded that they are Nazis every day when they go home. I start on my next day off - you should too."
The post is one of many that have threatened to harm or harass ICE agents, who now face a 1,000% uptick in assaults as the Trump administration continues to ramp up immigration enforcement operations nationwide.
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In September, Eduardo Aguilar, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was living in Dallas, was arrested after he allegedly offered $10,000 on TikTok to kill ICE agents. He was charged with transmitting in interstate or foreign commerce a communication containing a threat.
Aguilar allegedly posted a TikTok in Spanish on Oct. 9, calling for "10 dudes in Dallas with determination who aren't afraid to [two skull emojis]," and offered "10K for each ICE agent."
In September, three women were indicted by a federal grand jury for livestreaming their pursuit of an ICE agent to his home and then posting the victim's home address on Instagram. Upon arriving at the home, they began shouting "neighbor is ICE," "la migra lives here," and "ICE lives on your street and you should know."
In Texas, an ICE officer's spouse received a voicemail with violent threats.
"I don't know how you let your husband work for ICE and you sleep at night," the voicemail from a female caller said. "F--- you, f--- your family. I hope your kids get deported by accident. How do you sleep? F--- you. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it's what's going to happen to your family."
