A 23-year-old Houston man is facing federal cyberstalking charges amid allegations he relentlessly harassed his ex-girlfriend for months and threatened to kill her.
The woman eventually told police the man, Louis Nichols Delaune, was the leader of an “incel militia,” a violent, extremist group that targets women and young girls.
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Delaune was arrested on April 24. He was initially charged with cyberstalking and was later indicted on an additional charge of possession of child pornography.
He appeared in a federal courtroom on Monday alongside a federal public defender. During a brief hearing in front of a magistrate judge, he pleaded not guilty and given a trial date for August. Federal prosecutors and his defense attorney declined to comment after the hearing.
Delaune is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend from October 2025 until to his arrest, according to a May 1 detention order
The woman told police that Delaune sexually assaulted her while they were dating. When she attempted to end the relationship, he threatened to post images of her, according to court records. When she blocked his social media accounts, he would make new ones to stalk and harass her.
Delaune allegedly stalked the woman’s family members, showed up at her work and harassed her new boyfriend, according to court records. In one message to the woman, Delaune pretended to be law enforcement. In others, he threatened that he would send nude photos of the woman or that he would hurt her or himself.
The woman told investigators that Delaune is the “leader of an extremist, violent anti-women group” which she called an incel militia. Incel is an abbreviation for “involuntary celibate” and refers to an online community, most of them men, who believe society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention.
She also told police Delaune is “associated with other violent groups that target vulnerable populations.” Court records don’t name the other groups.
There’s no clearly identified extremist group in the U.S. that associated with misogyny, but experts have noted that anti-women rhetoric is increasingly appearing in far-right groups.
Incel culture has also been associated with the “manosphere,” a group of online communities that promote hypermasculine influencers and often crude attitudes toward women.
During the course of their investigation, authorities said they uncovered other potential victims and witnesses. One of the victims was a 14-year-old girl whom Delaune allegedly threatened, saying he would leak explicit images of her.
Another witness told police that Delaune was kicked out a group chat in 2022 because he possessed child sex abuse material, according to court records. After he was kicked out of the group, Delaune allegedly retaliated by sending nude pictures of minors to members of the chat.
Some records regarding Delaune’s case have been sealed, including the original complaint against him.
Delaune has no other history of arrests in Harris County.
After the detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Bennett found that Delaune was a danger to public safety and ordered him held in federal custody until his trial. If convicted of cyberstalking, he could face up to five years in prison. The possession of child pornography charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years.
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This article originally published at Houston man, called leader of ‘incel milita,’ accused of cyberstalking ex-girlfriend.