ICE arrests Florida man who threatened online to kill ICE officials

WASHINGTON - ICE's Homeland Security Investigations Ft. Myers arrested a Cape Coral, Florida, man Oct. 30 who made death threats against ICE officials on social media site Bluesky. Over several months, Joseph Rocco Giancola Jr. engaged in a pattern of threats likening ICE officials to Nazis, rabid dogs and thugs under the online pseudonym "Cain Delon." Giancola is a U.S. citizen.

"Making comments like 'Shoot the ICE Nazis dead… Shoot ICE gestapo dead… Get your gun and shoot them dead' is not free speech, it's simply dangerous," said HSI Tampa acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Cochran. "While the First Amendment protects free speech, it does not extend to threats of violence or actions that incite harm. Freedom of speech carries a responsibility to exercise it in a manner that respects the safety and rights of others."

Some of the statements Giancola made on Bluesky include the following:

• "Shoot the ICE Nazis down like the rabid dogs they are."
• "Just get a gun and shoot the ICE Nazis down."
• "Shoot the ICE agents down."
• "They come near me and I shoot to kill. Be warned."

For months, acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons has asked politicians and activists to tone down their dangerous rhetoric. Comparing federal law enforcement officers to vile war criminals of the past is disingenuous and irresponsible. ICE officers and agents face greater than a 1,000% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in threats when compared to the same time period last year. Threatening and assaulting federal officers is a crime.

Learn more about ICE's public safety mission on X at @ICEgov.