Texas man latest to be imprisoned for threats to kill federal agents after guilty plea

A Texas man was sentenced for threatening to murder Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Robert Wilson King, 36, of Dallas, made multiple threats to ICE agents through posts on social media, including one that said: “If I see ICE agents in my neighborhood I’m opening fire. It’s time to stop being p****** and put the Second Amendment to work. ICE are not real cops, they are a secret police force with no real legal authority. Kill them.”

Another post said he wanted to “double down” by telling people that “if ICE comes to your neighborhood, f***ing shoot them and kill them.” Another post said he was “Tripling down” by calling on people to shoot “ICE agents dead.” In another post, King also suggested someone kill President Donald Trump, falsely claiming he is “a traitor to our country and interests.”

King sentenced to 17 months in federal prison, plus supervised release for two years

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould announced that King had pleaded guilty in June to transmitting an interstate threat via his social media posts.

“There is no place for political violence in this country, and that includes hiding behind a keyboard to threaten the lives of the men and women who serve in federal law enforcement,” Raybould said. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents perform critical duties for our nation, and they should never have to fear for their own lives or the safety of their families simply for doing their jobs. Those who attempt to intimidate, harass or threaten federal officials will be tracked down and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr sentenced King to 17 months in federal prison. Once King is released, he will be on supervised release for two years.

“Threats of violence against federal law enforcement officers are not protected speech; it is a criminal act that will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas Deputy Special Agent in Charge Antwoine Jones said in the press release. “This sentence sends a clear message that those who threaten officers or attempt to intimidate them from performing their lawful responsibilities will be held accountable.”

Credible threats to federal agents a nationwide problem on the rise

King is the most recent person to be sentenced for threatening to kill federal agents. In August, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Logan Christopher Murfin, 26, of Skiatook, Oklahoma, to 21 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release after a jury found him guilty of threatening to murder federal agents. In April, Murfin was found guilty on five counts of threatening to assault and murder federal law enforcement officers with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere, and retaliate; and five counts of interstate communication with a threat to injure.

In October 2025, HSI submitted a report containing multiple X posts from Murfin that talked about “gunning down” ICE agents, also falsely claiming the Second Amendment gave people the right to murder federal agents.

Murfin received the longest sentence of any convicted of threatening to kill federal agents. Christopher Ray Plyler, 43, of Grand Haven Michigan received 12 months for his threats, and Joseph Rocco Giancola, 73, of Cape Coral, Florida, received 6 months. All were sentenced in 2026.

To be sure, the Supreme Court has previously wrestled with determining whether the threat was credible, or, in the case of Watts v. United States, 394 U.S. 705 (1969), if the speech in question was instead constitutionally protected "crude political hyperbole." In that case, facing induction into the military, Watts said "if inducted into the Army (which he vowed would never occur) and made to carry a rifle "the first man I want to get in my sights is L.B.J."