A Texas man was arrested and charged after allegedly using TikTok to solicit others to murder Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this month, according to federal prosecutors.
Eduardo Aguilar, 23, of Dallas, was federally charged with transmitting in interstate or foreign commerce a communication containing a threat, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas said in a Thursday news release. The statement added that he was in the country illegally from Mexico.
Aguilar was arrested after Dallas police reported to the FBI an Oct. 9 TikTok video he allegedly posted, according to the probable cause affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Aguilar posted a video that featured a photo of Dallas with text in Spanish on top of it that read: “I need 10 dudes in Dallas with determination (guts) who aren’t afraid to” kill, which Aguilar allegedly communicated by finishing the sentence with two skull emojis.
Aguilar allegedly offered $10,000 for each ICE agent killed, the affidavit states. Officials say they then connected the account that posted the message to Aguilar.
The criminal complaint included a screenshot of the alleged video. NBC News has not seen or independently verified the video attributed to Aguilar.
Lawyers for Aguilar and a representative for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aguilar was in court on Wednesday and was ordered detained in federal custody. He faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.
“Threats against our law enforcement officers are completely unacceptable,” said acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “All threats against our agents and officers will be investigated thoroughly, and anyone who threatens or puts a bounty on agents will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”