Federal authorities have now reportedly arrested a Minnesota man accused of placing a $45,000 bounty on the life of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in a startling case that has raised alarms about politically motivated violence circulated through social media.
The FBI said Tyler Maxon Avalos, 29, was taken into custody on October 16 after a tipster alerted agents to what prosecutors are calling an online “murder-for-hire” solicitation targeting the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
Court filings contend Avalos used TikTok to post a photograph of Attorney General Bondi marked with a red target icon placed squarely on her forehead.
“WANTED: Pam Bondi / REWARD: 45,000 DEAD OR ALIVE (PREFERABLY DEAD),” the post allegedly read. Below it, investigators say Avalos wrote an additional provocation: “Cough cough. When they don’t serve us, then what?” Authorities said he used the handle “Wacko,” and his profile linked to “An Anarchist FAQ book.”
Federal prosecutors say this was not merely a reckless statement online but part of a pattern of dangerous behavior from an individual with a violent criminal background.
In the affidavit supporting his arrest, officials detailed Avalos’s “multistate conviction history,” including “a July 2022 felony stalking conviction from Dakota County, an August 2016 felony third-degree domestic battery from Polk County, Florida, and an April 2016 misdemeanor domestic assault from Dakota County, which appears to have been reduced from a felony domestic assault by strangulation charge.”
The FBI also noted what it calls Avalos’s “anarchist ties,” though officials have not disclosed any specific motive behind the alleged threat. The language prosecutors quote suggests hostility toward elected officials carrying out their duties — a troubling trend in a political climate where public service increasingly risks becoming a target of online extremism.
Avalos has been charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure another person, a federal crime that carries a significant potential prison sentence. He is expected to face prosecution in federal court.
His attorney, Daniel Gerdts, declined to discuss the allegations when contacted, stating only that his client “is not guilty of any crime.”
Attorney General Bondi has not issued a public statement about the alleged plot. As the nation’s top legal officer, Bondi has been a frequent figure in high-profile law enforcement actions — responsibilities that, supporters argue, should not expose her to violent intimidation.
The case underscores the challenges confronting federal agents tasked with policing threats in a digital era where extremist calls to action can circulate widely before authorities can intervene. Conservative commentators have increasingly warned that unchecked hostility toward law-and-order officials is creating a culture in which radicalized individuals feel emboldened.
For now, investigators point to the swift response by a concerned citizen who brought the post to federal attention as the reason the situation did not escalate further. Avalos remains in custody as the courts begin to weigh what prosecutors describe as a grave and deliberate threat against one of the country’s highest-ranking public servants.
[READ MORE: Trump Sanctions Colombia’s President as Drug Crackdown Escalates]
