Texas Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Threatening the President and Federal Officers
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that Francisco Jesus Mena, 37, of Springtown, Texas, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for repeatedly issuing violent threats against the President of the United States and federal immigration officers. U.S. Chief District Judge Reed O'Connor imposed the sentence.
Mena pleaded guilty on June 9, 2025 to one count of threatening a federal official. According to the case record, he repeatedly posted violent threats online targeting the President and federal officers carrying out immigration enforcement duties; the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service investigated and brought him to justice.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said threats against the President and federal law enforcement officers are crimes his office takes very seriously, and that it will continue to prosecute individuals who seek to intimidate, impede or retaliate against federal law enforcement. FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said conveying violent online threats is a serious criminal offense with substantial consequences, and those who exploit digital platforms to intimidate, coerce or instill fear will be held accountable.
U.S. Secret Service Dallas Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christina Foley said the Secret Service investigates all threats against its protectees, threats against the President will not be tolerated, and it will continue working with federal, state and local partners to hold offenders accountable.
The Justice Department emphasized that online threats are prosecutable crimes carrying multi-year prison terms and fines — a reminder that speech on the internet carries legal responsibility.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Fort Worth Eldon B. Mahon联邦法院，CC BY-SA 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）
