Articles by Sarah Rumpf-Whitten

Technology

Suspect with lengthy rap sheet arrested for alleged Pam Bondi 'murder-for-hire' scheme: FBI

A Minnesota man with a history of violent offenses is facing federal charges after allegedly posting a TikTok video that offered a $45,000 bounty for the killing of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, prompting an FBI investigation that spanned two states. According to a newly filed affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, Tyler Maxon Avalos posted an image of Bondi with a red sniper-scope dot on her forehead and the caption "WANTED: Pam Bondi — REWARD: $45,000 — DEAD OR ALIVE (Preferably Dead)." Underneath the photo, Avalos allegedly wrote: "Cough cough. When they don’t serve us, then what?" The post, which was flagged by another TikTok user in Detroit, triggered a federal probe that led agents to a St. Paul apartment building, where they arrested Avalos on Thursday. Digital records obtained from TikTok, Google and Comcast allegedly tied the account "@liminalvoidslip" to Avalos, who agents say has a prior history of stalking and domestic violence. Court records cited in the FBI affidavit show that Avalos, who was born in 1995, has a history of violent offenses in both Minnesota and Florida. In July 2022, Avalos was convicted of felony stalking in Dakota County, Minnesota, after repeatedly contacting and harassing a victim in violation of state law. ALLEGED GANG LEADER OFFERED BOUNTY TO KILL IMMIGRATION OFFICER, FEDERAL OFFICIALS SAY Before that, in August 2016, the affidavit said he was convicted of third-degree felony domestic battery in Polk County, Florida, stemming from an assault on a household or family member. Earlier that same year, in April 2016, Avalos was charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation in Dakota County, but ultimately convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault after the charge was reduced. READ THE AFFIDAVIT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The FBI affidavit said agents traced the online alias through a Google-linked Samsung device, IP logs and subscriber data, ultimately locating Avalos’ residence and confirming his name on the apartment mailbox. His TikTok account, investigators noted, also featured anarchist symbols and links to anti-government literature. His profile also brandished a link to "An Anarchist FAQ book," according to court filings. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Investigators allege the viral "murder-for-hire" threat was not a joke or political hyperbole, but a deliberate and interstate communication of violence, a federal crime. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

Technology

‘Narco-banners’ reportedly threaten Americans in vacation hot spot where cartels rule like mafia: expert

Two alleged "narco-banners" that surfaced online this month, which warned Americans to stay out of Mexico’s Los Cabos region, have sparked concern about cartel intimidation tactics, even as local officials insist the signs never existed. The purported messages, signed by a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel known as La Chapiza, threatened violence against U.S. citizens living in or visiting the popular tourist destination. Photos of the banners circulated widely across social media, though authorities in Baja California Sur say investigators found no trace of them. Wyoming County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Joe Peters, who served in the White House’s drug czar office during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital that whether or not the Cabo banners were physically verified, the tactic itself is consistent with decades of cartel "narco-terrorism." "When you’re dealing with a cartel that’s that serious and sophisticated and right at our back door, we have to take it seriously," Peters said. "It’s a shot over the bow to both governments. They rule by threat and intimidation – the same way the mafia did." COAST GUARD NABS 50 TONS OF COCAINE BOUND FOR POSH COASTAL ENCLAVES AS CARTEL OPS ‘RIVAL AMAZON’: EXPERT Public "narco -anners," or narcomantas, have long been used by Mexican cartels as propaganda tools, with the large signs draped across bridges or hung in public plazas to issue threats, claim territory or taunt rivals. Peters said reports of such banners should be taken seriously given the proximity to America’s borders. "When you’re dealing with a cartel that serious and that close to our border, we have to take it seriously. Add to that the number of Americans traveling to Latin America for business or pleasure — it’s a ready stock of potential victims for extortion," he said. TRUMP STORMS MOST VIOLENT US CITY WITH FEDERAL MUSCLE AS POLICE GROUP WARNS OF SOFT-ON-CRIME CONSEQUENCES Peters, who served in senior roles in the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, said the current threats echo the global cartel tactics he saw firsthand. In the 1980s and ’90s, Colombia’s cocaine cartels controlled entire regions through intimidation, corruption and fear tactics that are nearly identical to what’s now unfolding in parts of Mexico. "Their strategy is simple: if they can control the levers of power in a nation through intimidation, then they control the nation," Peters said. "They assassinate police, judges and journalists, and they use fear to rule, the same way authoritarian regimes do." The difference today, he warned, is proximity. This time, the violence and instability are unfolding just beyond America’s southern border, in places millions of U.S. citizens visit each year for vacations and business. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP That closeness, Peters said, makes Americans prime targets for extortion, kidnapping and terror. "My advice is simple: don’t go unless you really need to," he said. "Be cautious, and stick to places with an established record of safety."