COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 21-year-old Columbus man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to threatening on social media to kill federal immigration enforcement agents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Justin Mesael Novoa admitted to two federal charges: threatening to assault or murder a federal law enforcement officer and making threatening interstate communications, the office said.
According to charging documents, Homeland Security Investigations received a tip in December 2025 about threats posted against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees on the social media platform X. Investigators traced a June 2025 post reading “they should blast every ice agent they find” to Novoa, according to the release.
A second post in November 2025 threatened to shoot ICE agents using vulgar and derogatory language, the release said. Novoa posted under the screennames “Lord of Frenzied Flame” and “Father2High,” according to court documents.
Federal agents searched Novoa’s residence in December 2025 and seized two rifles, two shotguns, a handgun and ammunition, along with two military-style helmets and a body armor vest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. It’s the latest case out of the Southern District of Ohio involving violence or threats aimed at immigration enforcement personnel, after federal prosecutors indicted a Venezuelan man earlier this year following an alleged assault on an immigration officer during an arrest in Powell.
Novoa was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in January, and a federal grand jury indicted him in February, according to the release.
Threatening to kill a federal officer carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while making threatening interstate communications carries up to five years, the office said. A judge will determine Novoa’s sentence at a future hearing based on advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II and Jared Murphey, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, announced the guilty plea, which was entered before U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy D. Prichard is prosecuting the case.
Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
