January 1, ICE Agents Face Rising Online Threats

Wyatt’s Take

• ICE officers in Washington are under threat online.
• Social media posts call for harassment and harm against agents.
• Officials warn these attacks are dangerous and must stop.

ICE agents in Washington state have become the target of online threats placed by a man who used social media to single them out, according to federal officials.

The Department of Homeland Security says James Adrian Warren is under investigation for allegedly making posts that named the Ferndale ICE office and called agents “Nazis” and “the Gestapo.”

Warren claimed he would tail and record ICE staff and urged others to do the same.

“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.

She added, “The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. 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.”

Warren’s post said, “I have also never been more ready to fight with everything that I’ve got than I am now.”

He also claimed ICE should “be reminded that they are Nazis every day when they go home. I start on my next day off — you should too.”

Attacks and threats against immigration authorities are rising, and ICE agents now face a huge jump in assaults nationwide as the government cracks down on illegal immigration.

Recent cases include a man in Dallas arrested for offering payouts on social media to anyone willing to harm ICE agents and three women in September charged for livestreaming a confrontation with an agent and posting his home address online.

Another recent threat in Texas targeted the spouse of an ICE officer with a hostile voicemail.

The message said, “I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE and you sleep at night. 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.”

Threats against officers and their families are becoming far too common. It’s time for lawmakers to take the safety of these public servants seriously and for citizens to support those who keep our borders secure. Our communities depend on law and order, not intimidation.

Wyatt Matters

Middle Americans know the value of a hard day’s work and respect for law enforcement. Threats and harassment against those who protect our borders don’t make us safer. Standing up for our officers is standing up for strong and safe communities across the heartland.

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