Two brothers from Absecon, New Jersey, were arrested Tuesday and charged in connection with alleged online threats targeting Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and a top public-facing spokesperson for Secretary Kristi Noem, authorities said.
Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores and Emilio Roman-Flores, who are twins, were taken into custody after investigators alleged they posted violent statements on X about McLaughlin and federal immigration officers, including an alleged call to “Shoot ICE on sight,” according to the account of the case shared by law enforcement officials.
Investigators allege one brother responded to McLaughlin with: “[The Second] Amendment is in place for moments like this. Shoot ICE on sight,” followed by: “We Americans should find you, tar you, feather you, and hang you as we did to anyone serving tyrants before the Revolutionary War.” A second, partially redacted post attributed to the other brother reportedly read: “Shoot ICE on sight.”
Prosecutors say the threats went further—allegedly escalating to talk of torturing and killing McLaughlin “in a medieval fashion.” McLaughlin has been front-and-center defending DHS enforcement actions on TV and online, and she’s repeatedly framed threats against officers as downstream of increasingly incendiary politics around immigration.
The charge sheet, as described, splits like this:
- Emilio: unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of prohibited weapons, conspiracy, terroristic threats, criminal coercion and cyber harassment.
- Ricardo: one count of conspiracy—terroristic threats.
ICE Director Todd Lyons said the arrests came within three days of the alleged posts and warned that threats against federal officials will be prosecuted. “We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We are not afraid of you,” Lyons told Fox News Digital. He added: “If you threaten our law enforcement or DHS officials, we will hunt you down, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
DHS is trying to make a broader point: this isn’t just one ugly thread online—it’s part of a threat environment they say has intensified alongside the administration’s border crackdown. In a DHS release dated Oct. 30, 2025, the department claimed ICE personnel have faced an “8,000% increase in death threats,” citing harassment and threats aimed at officers and their families.
The issue has also surfaced in recent disputes over whether public-facing tools that track immigration enforcement activity endanger federal officers. In a Reuters report published Monday, a developer sued the Trump administration after an app that let users share locations of immigration agents was removed from Apple’s store; the administration cited safety concerns for federal officers, while the developer argued the app relied on public observations.
