A man from Grand Haven, Michigan, will spend a year in prison for making online threats to use chemical weapons against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Christopher Ray Plyler, 43, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for communicating an interstate threat, plus two years of supervised release and a $500 fine, according to court documents.
In May 2026, Plyler pled guilty to posting a message that read, “Let them come. I’m ready to kill ICE Nazis and make them pay with their lives. The war is on.”
During sentencing last month, Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said, “As an American, you have an absolute right to speak out, but there’s a line you can’t cross,” and “threats will not be tolerated.”
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey pursued the federal charges against Plyler, who was indicted in February, WOOD-TV 8 reported.
In a news release from his office, VerHey said threatening federal officers for doing their job will not be tolerated in his district.
“Our immigration laws were enacted by our representatives in Congress and they will be enforced,” VerHey said. “Nobody gets to veto federal law by making threats against these officers, and anyone who tries will be prosecuted by my office.”
The case was investigated by the FBI Grand Rapids Resident Agency Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service.
“There is a clear line between expressing an opinion and threatening to kill federal law enforcement officers. Crossing that line has consequences,” Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, said.
According to investigators, between November 2025 and January 2026, Plyler posted a dozen threatening comments in response to YouTube videos about civil unrest in Minneapolis.
In one message, Plyler mentioned using chemical gas to attack ICE agents.
In another, he wrote, “This is war and they will pay with their lives. Eliminate them all. Kill the ICE nazis. Nazi elimination now.”
Federal authorities determined that Plyler searched Google for instructions on making hazardous chemical gases. He had also searched for the home address of a former Secretary of Homeland Security, CBS News reported.
David Dobb, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Grand Rapids Resident Office, added that “threatening government officials is a serious federal crime with significant consequences.”
Plyler initially faced three criminal charges, including one count of threatening a federal official and two counts of interstate threatening communication. Plyler agreed to a plea deal, admitting to one count of interstate threats in exchange for dropping
