A 70-year-old Florida attorney living in Diamondhead, Mississippi, is behind bars after federal agents say she tried to buy a gun specifically to kill an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Lisa White was arrested in Long Beach on Sept. 24 following an investigation into threats against federal agents, and she remains jailed without bond while federal agents prepare charges.
The case began a day earlier, on Sept. 23, when an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives referred a report to Homeland Security Investigations, according to the Sun Herald. That tip pointed investigators to High Caliber Guns, a Long Beach business where White had allegedly gone to buy a firearm and pepper spray.
According to the criminal complaint as described by the Sun Herald, White told store employees she wanted to buy a gun to kill ICE agents. She allegedly asked whether a firearm could penetrate an agent's body armor, and WLBT reports she said she would need to shoot the agent in the head, shoulder, arm or leg if it could not. White looked at two high-powered pistols but left the store empty-handed after an employee declined to complete the sale, the Sun Herald reported.
Agents Tracked Her Down After Interviewing Witnesses
HSI Gulfport special agents interviewed witnesses before locating and arresting White in Long Beach on Sept. 24, according to the National News Desk. She was identified by Homeland Security Investigations as a Florida attorney who had been living in Mississippi, and her Florida Bar license was listed as in good standing with no disciplinary history, per the Sun Herald's review of records; White became a Florida Bar member in October 1995.
She is now being held while HSI agents prepare federal charges of influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threat, per the same account relayed by WLBT. That potential charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment, the station reported. White's trial has been scheduled for Nov. 16.
Federal Officials Point to a Spike in Threats Against Agents
Homeland Security Investigations has said threats against federal law enforcement will not be tolerated and that the agency will continue investigating threats against officers, according to the National News Desk's reporting on the case. ICE has cited what it describes as a massive increase in violence and threats against federal law enforcement, pointing to figures it says show vehicle attacks up 3,300% and death threats up 8,000% against federal officers. DHS reported assaults against ICE officers up 1,649%, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said assaults had risen by more than 1,600%.
Those figures echo broader claims from the Department of Homeland Security, which told Fox News there were 647 assaults against ICE personnel between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 20, 2026, compared with 37 during the equivalent period under the Biden administration. DHS separately said assaults against ICE officers had increased 1,649%, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told the outlet that assaults have risen by more than 1,600% since President Trump expanded ICE enforcement — figures that vary slightly depending on which DHS statement is cited. ICE has said that President Trump and Mullin have made clear that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated, and that people who threaten or attack officers face arrest and prosecution.
