Two New Jersey brothers have been arrested for making terroristic threats against a senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security official and ICE agents.
Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores and Emilio Roman-Flores, who are U.S. citizens, were arrested Tuesday morning in Absecon, New Jersey by the local police department and DHS.
The twin brothers allegedly threatened to hang DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and said they would “shoot ICE on sight” in posts on social media.
BREAKING: Two brothers from New Jersey have been arrested for threatening to TORTURE and KILL DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
They also reportedly threatened to "Shoot ICE agents on sight."
Emilio Roman-Flores and Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores were both charged with… pic.twitter.com/NldPoYdZFX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 9, 2025
“Let this be a warning to anyone who dares threaten or attack our brave law enforcement officers,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. “We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We are NOT afraid of you.”
Emilio Roman-Flores faces charges of “unlawful possession of an assault weapon, possession of prohibited weapons, conspiracy terroristic threats, criminal coercion, threats, and cyber harassment.” Ricardo Antonio Roman-Flores faces a charge of conspiracy terroristic threats.
A picture in DHS’s announcement of the arrests shows a shotgun, an AR-15, and boxes of ammunition.
Great work by our HSI team for welcoming these New Jersey twins to the find out stage.
Word to the wise: Don't make death threats against political and/or law enforcement officials. https://t.co/bKUxxfX8SS
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) December 9, 2025
According to DHS, death threats against federal immigration officers have increased 8,000%.
“The extreme rhetoric of the news media, sanctuary politicians, and activists is leading directly to our law enforcement officers facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them,” Lyons added. “If you threaten our law enforcement or DHS officials, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
