Minneapolis man charged with threatening cyberstalking ICE officers

Minneapolis (US), Feb 6 (AP) A Minneapolis man was arrested on Thursday on charges of cyberstalking and threatening to kill or assault Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers involved in the crackdown in Minnesota.
    Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Kyle Wagner, 37, of Minneapolis, was charged by complaint, and that a decision to seek an indictment, which is necessary to take the case to trial, would be made soon.
    Court records in Detroit, Michigan, where the case was filed, did not list an attorney who could speak on Wagner's behalf. The complaint was filed on Tuesday and unsealed on Thursday.
    Attorney General Pamela Bondi alleged in a statement that Wagner doxed and threatened law enforcement officers, claimed an affiliation with antifa and "encouraged bloodshed in the streets."
    And at the White House on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt held up Weber's photo at the daily briefing and said such conduct by "left-wing agitators" won't go unpunished.
    "If people are illegally obstructing our federal law enforcement operations, if they are targeting, doxing, harassing and vilifying ICE agents, they are going to be held accountable like this individual here who, again, is a self-proclaimed member of antifa. He is a domestic terrorist, and he will be held accountable in the United States," Leavitt told reporters.
    President Donald Trump announced in September that he would designate antifa a "major terrorist organisation." Antifa, short for "anti-fascists," is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups and is not a singular entity. It consists of groups that resist fascists and neo-Nazis, especially at demonstrations.
    When Trump administration border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday that about 700 federal officers deployed to Minnesota would be withdrawn immediately, he said a larger pullout would occur only after there's more cooperation and protesters stop interfering with federal personnel.
    According to prosecutors, Wagner repeatedly posted on Facebook and Instagram encouraging his followers to "forcibly confront, assault, impede, oppose, and resist federal officers" whom he referred to as the "gestapo" and "murderers."
    The complaint alleges Wagner posted a video last month that directly threatened ICE officers with an obscenity-laden rant. "I've already bled for this city, I've already fought for this city, this is nothing new, we're ready this time," he said, concluding that he was "coming for" ICE.
    The complaint further alleges that Wagner advocated for physical confrontation in another post, stating, "Anywhere we have an opportunity to get our hands on them, we need to put our hands on them."
    It also details how Wagner used his Instagram account to dox a person identified only as "pro-ICE individual" by publishing a phone number, birth month and year, and address in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, Michigan. The complaint says Wagner later admitted that he doxed the victim's parents' house. (AP) RUK
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)