As DHS Says: Welcome to the Find Out Stage. On March 6, 2026, Andrew Warren Stanton, 38, from Kenosha, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to threatening to murder a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer who was working with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The court accepted his plea, resolving charges under a federal law that makes it illegal to threaten a federal officer to interfere with their work or retaliate against them. Prosecutors said Stanton’s threats aimed to disrupt the officer’s duties and punish him for doing his job.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the case started with social media posts in August 2025. On August 29, Stanton posted a TikTok video declaring, “We’re not getting through to them [politicians] with using our words. That’s never gonna happen. You have to use bullets.” In another clip posted the same day, he overlaid text stating: “I imply the very TRUE statement that a violent state can only be stopped with violence in return. Also, I think we should be OFFING federal agents. Also, I support ‘terrorism’ by their standard. Anti-imperialist by mine.”
After the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force tried to interview him in early September 2025, Stanton’s threats became more severe. Court records show he used several TikTok accounts and sent direct text messages to the victim, known as “Border Patrol Officer Joe,” a CBP supervisor. His messages included graphic suggestions of suicide: “Hang yourself in your wife’s closet so she discovers your corpse.” He also invited the officer to meet for what he called “my own form of justice,” and wrote that he hoped “an ‘illegal’ that drops you, bury you, and piss on your grave.” Stanton also shared a meme about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with the caption: “This should be a lesson on how to deal with fascists. You don’t debate them, you delete them.”
The most direct threat happened on October 4, 2025. In a video seen by hundreds of thousands, Stanton said: “If ICE shows up to your neighborhood… it’s time to start f**king shooting at them… and I’m talking to you, Border Patrol Officer Joe, it’s time we start shooting at y’all.” He also posted images of weapons and body armor, each with violent messages.
Stanton was indicted on October 7, 2025. He first pleaded not guilty but changed his plea this month. The FBI Milwaukee Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Taibleson is handling the prosecution.
Sentencing is set for June 18, 2026. Stanton could get up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. The case highlights growing federal concern about online threats to law enforcement, especially during increased immigration enforcement and political tension. Stanton’s posts combined anti-imperialist views with direct calls for violence against federal agents, reaching a large audience on TikTok before the JTTF intervened. No other criminal history or personal background has been made public. Federal officials stress that threats, whether disguised as political speech or sent as targeted harassment, can make it harder for officers to protect the public. Stanton’s guilty plea is meant to send a strong warning. Inciting violence against federal workers on social media has serious consequences. This case started with broad ideological statements and ended with direct threats against a specific officer.
