“I AM HEADED THERE AND I AM GOING TO KILL ICE AGENTS”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY A MICHIGAN MAN POSTED THREATS TO KILL IMMIGRATION AGENTS ONLINE WHILE TRAVELING TOWARD MINNESOTA… AND AFTER PLEADING GUILTY, HE HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO TIME SERVED AND THREE YEARS OF SUPERVISED RELEASE.
A 32-year-old Michigan man has been sentenced after threatening to kill law enforcement officers, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the threats targeted officers, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The defendant was identified in court records as 32-year-old Justin Ward of Ironwood.
Ward pleaded guilty in May to a federal charge of making threats to injure law enforcement.
The investigation that led to the federal charge began earlier in the year on January 29.
On that date, the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Ward.
That local inquiry involved allegations that Ward had threatened to kill a local law enforcement officer.
Authorities subsequently learned that Ward was on the move.
Investigators established that he was traveling through northern Wisconsin.
He was traveling in the direction of Duluth.
Then investigators discovered what Ward was allegedly posting online.
According to federal prosecutors, Ward posted a threat on Facebook.
Prosecutors said he stated in the post that he was going to kill ICE agents.
At the time of the online threat, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was conducting an active enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
That Minneapolis operation was widely publicized.
The ongoing operation made the alleged threat particularly concerning to authorities.
Ward was subsequently arrested.
He remained behind bars as his federal criminal case proceeded.
Ward eventually entered a guilty plea to the federal threat charge in May.
On August 25, Ward appeared for sentencing.
The sentencing hearing was held before Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson.
Judge Peterson sentenced Ward to time served.
The judge determined that the time Ward had already spent incarcerated was consistent with the applicable sentencing guideline range.
During the proceeding, the court also considered evidence concerning Ward’s mental condition.
That evidence indicated Ward had been experiencing a mental health crisis leading up to the threats.
Yet Ward will not simply walk away without further restrictions.
The judge ordered Ward to serve three years of supervised release.
During that supervised release period, Ward will be subject to strict conditions.
Those conditions require him to adhere to a curfew.
Ward will also be subject to GPS monitoring.
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