A Florida man who voted for Donald Trump and supports his immigration crackdown was charged with making threats against the White House and federal agents because his Colombian fiancée was facing delays in getting a visa.
Tristen Elijah Giroux had been calling U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to complain about the visa process and became impatient when he was unable to reach a live service representative. A criminal complaint shows that his frustration boiled over into violent threats on the recorded line, reported The Independent.
“I’m gonna burn down the White House,” Giroux said on the recording, according to the affidavit. “I’m gonna go choke out every ICE member I see. Kill them all.”
The 30-year-old Giroux had called USCIS on Oct. 24, in the midst of a government shutdown, from his mobile phone, which the FBI identified after the Department of Homeland Security forwarded an electronic tip about his threats, and he admitted to agents that he had trouble navigating the system's interactive voice recognition system.
“He explained that he called USCIS to try to resolve an issue he was having with his upcoming marriage between him and his paramour, a Colombian national, for whom Giroux was seeking a K1 visa,” the affidavit states. “Giroux had sent in the documents regarding their intended marriage, but USCIS had sent them back without explanation. Giroux explained to me that he was running out of time to get the paperwork squared away and was extremely frustrated that he was unable to get a hold of an actual representative and kept getting routed to the automated system.”
The man confessed to investigators that he'd made threats against ICE agents and the White House in an effort to draw attention to his fiancée's issues, which he said eventually happened, according to the affidavit.
“Giroux advised that he did eventually speak with a representative, who was helpful, and he was able to get the situation straightened out,” the affidavit states.
He insisted that he “had no intention of harming anyone,” and told agents “how stupid it was that he had said those things and that he regretted it.”
“Giroux said that he is a supporter of President Trump,” the affidavit added. “Giroux said he has seen the ICE protests on the social media platform TikTok, and that they disgust him because he is supportive of ICE’s efforts. Giroux explained that he is trying to handle the immigration of his paramour in the right way, and it is so difficult, while in the meantime, people are entering the country illegally.”
He was arrested Oct. 27 and charged with one count of transmitting a threat to kill in interstate commerce. He was released from custody later that day on a personal recognizance bond.
If convicted, Giroux faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.