Federal agents say a Forsyth County man is behind bars after a series of chilling letters allegedly threatened to kill high-ranking immigration officials and their family members, and to burn or blow up one official's home. The arrest, made Friday, capped what authorities describe as a months-long federal investigation into letters mailed in June 2025.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 61-year-old Richard David Warren is facing three counts of threatening to murder a federal official and two counts of mailing a threatening communication. As noted by Spectrum News, Warren, formerly of Brunswick County, was taken into custody on May 8 after deputy U.S. marshals executed an arrest warrant. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Professional Responsibility is handling the investigation, officials said.
What officials said
In the federal release, the Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility stressed that "the safety and security of our personnel and their families is paramount." United States Marshal Glenn McNeill also commended the teamwork of deputy marshals in tracking Warren down, calling threats against public officials an attack on the rule of law, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Charges and legal context
Warren is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 115, a statute that criminalizes threats to murder federal officials or their family members, and under 18 U.S.C. § 876, which covers mailing threatening communications. Together, those laws are designed to shield public servants and to punish the use of the mail for violent or extortionate messages. Certain violations can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years. Whether the letters qualify as prosecutable "true threats" will be a key question for investigators and, ultimately, the court.
Why now
Prosecutors say the threatening letters went out in June 2025, but an arrest did not follow until this week, after investigators said they had built sufficient probable cause to seek a warrant. The case surfaces amid intense public scrutiny of immigration enforcement, ongoing protests, and political fights over federal policy, context highlighted by Spectrum News.
What's next
The case is listed as No. 7:26-CR-26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Filings and hearing schedules are available on the court’s public website (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina) or through PACER. Prosecutors and defense counsel are expected to appear in court in the coming weeks, where an indictment or other formal filings will lay out the government’s evidence. For now, the charges remain allegations, and Warren is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in federal court.
