In an era of assassinations, putting a target on the attorney general of the United States is going to be taken seriously.
A Minnesota man is finding out just how seriously after being busted by the FBI and accused of placing a bounty on Attorney General Pam Bondi using the social media platform TikTok.
The post contained an image of Bondi with a “sniper-scope red dot” on her forehead, according to the arrest affidavit, and a message that was even more chilling:
Wanted: Pam Bondi
Reward: 45,000
Dead or Alive
(Preferably Dead)
The FBI was alerted to the posting on Oct. 16 by a concerned TikTok user, the affidavit said.
With the help of TikTok techs, Google, and Comcast, the FBI traced the post to originating with Tyler Maxon Avalos, 29, of St. Paul, Minnesota.
He’s charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure the person of another, according to the affidavit.
It sounds totally crazy, but the worthy Mr. Avalos is no stranger to run-ins with the law.
Will political violence in America keep getting worse?
According to the affidavit, submitted by FBI Special Agent Caleb Jurchisin, Avalos’ criminal record includes a 2022 felony stalking conviction in Dakota County, Minnesota, and a 2016 felony battery conviction in Polk County, Florida.
It might sound even crazier, but he’s also apparently entangled in leftist politics, with “An Anarchist FAQ” book pinned to his TikTok page, according to the affidavit.
“According to open-source research, as well as based on Your Affiant’s training and experience, ‘anarchism’ is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism,” the affidavit said.
Anarchism is also associated with the kind of violence the American left has thrived on in the past decade since Donald Trump entered national politics for good.
So, this man with a criminally violent past, and with obvious links to criminally violent politics, has apparently posted a potentially criminally violent threat against the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.
In another era, it might not have made such a stir.
Without the technology of social media, a threatening “wanted” poster might be seen by a few hundred, maybe even a few thousand, mostly lice-ridden losers or suburban kids slumming it in urban neighborhoods, pretending they’re living the life of Les Misérables.
Now, it can be seen by millions, including enough deranged individuals who might take it seriously.
In another era, Americans would not have just witnessed the literal assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a public debate stage in Utah (and leftists mocking it). They would not have witnessed Trump’s hair’s-breadth escape from death at the hands of a sniper while on a stage in Pennsylvania, or the arrest of a would-be assassin in Florida.
In another era, Americans would not have witnessed the burning of their cities during “mostly peaceful” protests. They would not have watched as leftists destroyed statues of heroes and attacked police precincts with impunity.
In another era, Americans might not know with the crystal clarity of cynical experience what can happen when violent rhetoric is left unchecked, and everything seems to spiral out of control.
In an era of leftist political violence, very much including assassination with the sniper’s rifle, anyone putting a target on the United States attorney general is going to be taken as seriously as a bullet to the head.
Tyler Avalos is finding that out now. It’s a good bet he won’t be the last one to get the lesson.
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