A North Carolina man has been charged with threatening to murder federal agents and is currently appearing before federal court. Johnathan Trent Thomas, 27, from Linwood, was arrested last Friday, and according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Western District of North Carolina, the charges stem from a series of violent threats he allegedly made against law enforcement officers.
In a complaint unsealed in court, allegations include that Thomas called the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Last Wednesday threatening to "shoot them all" if he saw officers making arrests. He claimed to be armed with armor piercing ammunition, night vision devices, and body armor, ready to confront and kill police officers in retaliation for immigration enforcement actions. Thomas's threats were not idle words as he alluded to an explosive, Tannerite, set up around his house and made references to a tragic past event where four law enforcement officers were killed in Charlotte.
The investigation, which resulted in Thomas's arrest, was a joint effort between various local and federal agencies, commended by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. Special Agent Cardell T. Morant of Homeland Security Investigations emphasized the collaboration in the announcement of Thomas's court appearance.
Upon his arrest, authorities executed a search warrant at Thomas's residence and confiscated an arsenal including three rifles and a handgun. The seriousness of the situation is underscored by his charge: threatening to assault or murder federal law enforcement officers, a crime with a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. However, as the U.S. Attorney's office stresses, and as it stands with all criminal cases, "a criminal complaint is merely an allegation" and the defendant, Thomas, "is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly is tasked with prosecuting the case, and Thomas remains in custody pending a detention hearing. His history with law enforcement includes previous threats to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and the CMPD, along with a disturbing precedent of following CMPD patrol cars.
