A Jamestown man has been charged after he allegedly made multiple death threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on social media in April. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Tuesday that 43-year-old Matthew White was arrested on a charge of communicating interstate threats.
According to prosecutors, Homeland Security Investigations learned on April 30th that a Twitter account believed to be operated by White was engaged in publicly posting threats to federal immigration agents and administrators employed by the Department of Homeland Security. On June 4th, White voluntarily spoke with investigators and allowed them to extract and copy the contents of his phone. Investigators recovered a number of threatening posts on Twitter, including the following:
- On April 18th, White allegedly posted, "Kill them all, ICE is the new age gestapo, stop them."
- On April 29th, White allegedly shared a video clip of U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan posted by a Twitter user "America," and commented, "Then understand that if your ICE agents don't show proof of identity and a signed warrant, we will kill them."
- In late April, White allegedly posted multiple threatening and violent public comments in response to coverage of several ICE arrest operations, including an ICE arrest operation inside a Virginia courthouse that occurred in April. White allegedly posted, "I can't wait to put a bullet into this guy's brain, but first his children."
White made an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon before a U.S. magistrate judge and was released on conditions. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.
