Federal authorities arrested 37-year-old Kyle Wagner of Minneapolis on Thursday, charging him with federal threat and cyberstalking offenses after he allegedly used Instagram to encourage followers to arm themselves and confront ICE agents—while proudly declaring his allegiance to Antifa.
Wagner was wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words "I'm Antifa!" when agents took him into custody. The arrest, announced by the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs, stems from a series of social media posts in which Wagner allegedly directed violent rhetoric at federal immigration officers.
According to prosecutors, as reported by Fox News, the case centers on a video Wagner posted on January 8, 2026:
"On Jan. 8, 2026, Wagner posted a video stating, 'We're f***ing coming for you,' directed at ICE agents. Prosecutors allege he urged followers to 'get your guns' to federal agents and suggested identifying agents even if it had to be done 'at the barrel of a gun.'"
According to Breitbart, authorities say Wagner also referred to federal officers as the "Gestapo" and "murderers" on the Instagram account where he maintained a stream of posts encouraging people to confront and attack ICE agents.
The Administration Responds
Attorney General Pam Bondi did not mince words. Her statement framed the arrest as a direct message to anyone considering similar threats against federal law enforcement:
"This man allegedly doxxed and called for the murder of law enforcement officers, encouraged bloodshed in the streets, and proudly claimed affiliation with the terrorist organization Antifa before going on the run. Today's arrest illustrates that you cannot run, you cannot hide, and you cannot evade our federal agents: if you come for law enforcement, the Trump Administration will come for you."
U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon struck a different tone—biblical, but no less pointed:
"We know that a 'worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.' And Wagner's alleged actions were an attempt to spread fire into our peaceful community. That is not going to happen."
The reference is Proverbs 16:27, and the application is hard to miss.
What the Left's Resistance Campaign Actually Looks Like
There is a tendency in polite media circles to treat anti-ICE rhetoric as mere political speech—passionate but harmless, the kind of thing people say when they're frustrated with policy. Wagner's arrest demolishes that fiction. This is what the endpoint of "Abolish ICE" culture looks like when a true believer takes the slogans literally: a man allegedly urging armed confrontation with federal officers doing their jobs.
For years, the progressive left has normalized the demonization of immigration enforcement. ICE agents have been called Nazis, fascists, and worse by elected officials, activist organizations, and cable news commentators. When you spend enough cycles telling people that law enforcement officers are the moral equivalent of history's greatest monsters, someone eventually decides to act on it. Wagner allegedly did just that—calling agents the "Gestapo" and "murderers" while telling his followers to grab their firearms.
This is the predictable consequence of a political movement that treats immigration enforcement as inherently illegitimate. The rhetoric creates the permission structure. The permission structure produces people like Wagner.
The Antifa Question
Wagner's wardrobe choice at the time of his arrest speaks volumes. Wearing an "I'm Antifa!" hoodie while being taken into federal custody is not exactly the behavior of someone who stumbled into extremism by accident. This is a man who wrapped his identity around a movement that has left a trail of property destruction, intimidation, and political violence across American cities.
Journalist Andy Ngô reported in January that Wagner was previously a "cross-dressing activist." Whatever one makes of that detail, the more salient point is that Wagner appears to be exactly the kind of radicalized figure that law enforcement has warned about—someone who migrated from activist subcultures into explicit threats of violence against federal officers.
The arrest arrives as President Donald Trump's administration works to remove criminal illegal immigrants from American communities. Those operations have drawn fierce opposition from leftist activists and some Democratic politicians. But opposition through legal channels is one thing. Allegedly encouraging armed attacks on federal agents is another thing entirely—and it carries federal charges.
Words Have Consequences—When They're Threats
The left frequently lectures the rest of America about the power of words. Rhetoric is violence, we're told. Speech causes harm. Platforms must be policed to prevent dangerous ideas from spreading.
Interesting, then, how selective that concern becomes when the violent rhetoric targets ICE agents. When a self-declared Antifa member allegedly tells followers to arm themselves and identify federal officers "at the barrel of a gun," the usual speech-as-violence crowd goes quiet. The framework only applies in one direction.
Federal prosecutors, fortunately, do not operate on that double standard. A threat is a threat. Cyberstalking is cyberstalking. And when someone allegedly uses a social media platform to direct armed hostility at law enforcement, the First Amendment is not a shield.
What Comes Next
Wagner now faces the federal legal system—a system that takes threats against law enforcement with appropriate seriousness. The specific charges of federal threats and cyberstalking carry real consequences, and Bondi's statement suggests the administration intends to prosecute these cases aggressively.
The broader signal matters as much as the individual case. For months, anti-ICE activists have operated under the assumption that the worst that could happen was a local misdemeanor or a slap on the wrist. Federal charges change that calculus. They tell every would-be Wagner scrolling through Instagram that the DOJ is watching, and that threats against federal officers will be treated as what they are: crimes.
This is deterrence in action. Not through bluster, but through handcuffs and charging documents.
The Hoodie Says it All
Kyle Wagner allegedly told ICE agents, "We're f***ing coming for you." He allegedly told followers to get their guns. He allegedly suggested identifying officers at the barrel of a firearm. And when federal agents came for him instead, he was wearing a hoodie that announced exactly who he was.
The administration took him at his word. That is exactly how this should work. Threaten federal officers, and federal officers will find you—even in Minneapolis, even if you run. The hoodie told agents everything they needed to know. The charges will tell a jury the rest.
