New Jersey man charged with using his Twitter account to threaten to kill ICE agents

NEWARK, NJ – A Bergen County man was arrested Friday morning after allegedly using his Twitter account to threaten to kill agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Carlos Alejandro Tariche, 22, of Edgewater was arrested by agents of U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and charged with one count of interstate communications containing threats to injure. He was scheduled to appear Friday afternoon in Newark federal court, Carpenito said.

According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, on Dec. 11, 2019, Tariche used one of his Twitter accounts to post threats to ICE agents: “We need to kill all ICE agents.”  He also posted: “Why can’t mass shootings occur at @ICEgov buildings them mfs need to get smoked.” Tariche also used his Twitter account to compare his feelings to that of Elliot Rodger, the individual who carried out a mass shooting at Isla Vista, California, murdering six people and shooting 14 others. Tariche also posted on Twitter: “You might’ve heard I paint houses,” a phrase that refers to murdering people and that was recently popularized by the movie, “The Irishman,” which depicts a mafia hitman.

Law enforcement officers were able to link Tariche to his Twitter account through an investigation of his social media accounts and the locations from where he logged onto his Twitter accounts, according to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court

The charge of interstate communications containing threats carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, Carpenito said.