TikTok threat offering bounty on Pam Bondi leads to federal charges, FBI says

A man from Minnesota with a history of past convictions has been arrested and faces federal charges for allegedly using social media to threaten the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, by suggesting he would pay $45,000 for her death. According to an FBI affidavit viewed by the Guardian, Tyler Maxon Avalos posted a TikTok video featuring a photo of Bondi with a “sniper scope red dot” on her forehead, with text reading: “WANTED: Pam Bondi. REWARD: 45,000. DEAD OR ALIVE (PREFERABLY DEAD).” The caption on the post also reportedly read: “*cough cough* when they don’t serve us then what?”. The FBI said that it was alerted to the video around 9 October and traced the account to Avalos, a resident of St Paul, Minnesota. The affidavit alleges that Avalos’s TikTok username included a “symbol for anarchy” and that his TikTok page linked to an “anarchist FAQ book”. The FBI also said Avalos had “a multi-state conviction history”, including a stalking conviction in Minnesota in 2022, a domestic battery conviction in Florida from 2016, and a domestic assault conviction in Minnesota that same year. Court records show that the current charges in this case were filed on 16 October and Avalos made his initial court appearance the following day. He was granted release from custody under several conditions, including GPS monitoring, a curfew, no travel outside Minnesota, no possession of a firearm or alcohol consumption, continued mental health treatment, and restrictions on his internet access. The justice department, the US attorney’s office for Minnesota and Avalos’s attorney, Daniel Gerdts, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gerdts told Law&Crime that his client “is not guilty of any crime”. Last week a man who was pardoned by Donald Trump for his conviction in the US Capitol attack was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.