Illinois Man Charged with Interstate Transmission of Text and Voicemail Threats to Injure Federal Law Enforcement Officer

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota Federal Grand Jury returned a one-count Indictment, charging Jose Alberto Ramirez, age 29, with interstate transmission of threats to injure a federal law enforcement officer on January 15, 2026, United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced today.

According to court documents, on January 14, 2026, in response to an immigration enforcement action, a large group of protesters in Minneapolis vandalized and significantly damaged FBI-owned vehicles, stealing weapons and ammunition, seizing government-owned equipment, and taking documents containing federal employees' phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, and driver's license numbers. FBI personnel were on scene to investigate an officer-involved shooting and not for any immigration enforcement. One of the individuals whose personal information had been compromised and broadcast on the Internet was an FBI Special Agent, who began receiving a series of threatening texts and voicemails on their government-issued cell phone on January 15, 2026, and for several days thereafter.

A subsequent investigation identified the phone number associated with one particular voicemail and two particular threatening text messages sent to the Special Agent as belonging to Jose Alberto Ramirez. The messages asserted that the caller/sender knew where the Special Agent's parents and children lived and advised the Special Agent to "get home safe and fast."

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent.