A New York man is facing federal charges after allegedly taking to social media to threaten the execution of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent and the agent’s children.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced Thursday that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Matthew White, 43, Jamestown, with threatening to assault and murder a federal law enforcement officer and transmitting threats through interstate communication. If convicted, White faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the Western District of New York, the investigation began in late April 2025, when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents flagged a series of violent posts on the platform X. The posts were linked to an account identified as belonging to White.
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Court documents allege that on April 30, White responded to a thread featuring an image of a federal immigration agent involved in an arrest operation at a courthouse in Virginia.
Investigators say White posted a comment regarding the agent stating, “I can’t wait to put a bullet into this guy’s brain, but first his children.”
Another post from the same account allegedly remarked that the agent “needs to be tied up.”
Agents tracked the account to White through IP addresses connected to his neighbor’s Wi-Fi and a bar next to his workplace. On June 4, HSI agents approached White at the Sakura Buffet in Lakewood, N.Y., where he agreed to a voluntary interview.
According to the affidavit, White admitted to agents that the account was his and acknowledged writing the posts.
When confronted specifically with the threat against the agent’s children, White reportedly told investigators, “Well, OK, if I wrote that, then I didn’t… mean it.”
He further stated that while he knew the posts were wrong, he had no intention of carrying out the violence, comparing it to “saying you’re going to beat someone up” without acting on it.
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson, who is prosecuting the case, noted that the threats were made with the intent to interfere with the officer’s official duties.
White was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was released on conditions pending further proceedings. The investigation was led by HSI under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan.
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