A man has been arrested for allegedly targeting Attorney General Pam Bondi in a “murder for hire plot” on TikTok.
Tyler Maxon Avalos, 30, is alleged to have posted a video on the social media platform with a target on Bondi’s head and a $45,000 reward.
The FBI said the post, now deleted, said that Bondi was wanted dead or alive, but “preferably dead,” and was captioned, “Cough cough. When they don’t serve us then what?”
Highlights
- Tyler Maxon Avalos was arrested for allegedly posting a TikTok video targeting Attorney General Pam Bondi in a $45,000 murder-for-hire plot.
- Avalos allegedly posted the threat under the username 'Wacko,' linked to anarchist ideology and extreme political views.
- The FBI traced Avalos using TikTok and Google data, finding him at a Minnesota address linked to his name.
- Avalos has a criminal history including felony stalking and domestic assault convictions across multiple states.
Tyler Maxon Avalos, 30, is alleged to have posted the threat on TikTok
Image credits: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Avalos is understood to be in treatment for mental health problems.
The TikTok username was also linked to extremist ideology. As per court documents, it was posted under the username “Wacko,” which had replaced the “A” with a symbol for anarchy.
There was also an Anarchist FAQ book pinned to the TikTok page.
Anarchism is a political movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism.
The post came to light after it began to pop up on TikTok and a concerned user reported it to the FBI National Threat Operations Center (NTOC).
Image credits: FBI
“The TikTok user reported the threat as a murder for hire of US Attorney General, Pam Bondi,” an FBI affidavit states.
“The TikTok user reported that the threatening post was ‘Imposing a hit on Pam bondi for $45,000 posting it on tiktok his user name is @liminalvoidslip.’”
FBI agents then submitted an emergency disclosure request (EDR) to TikTok for information regarding the user.
The social media giant responded with the signup IP address and informed agents that the device was a Samsung Galaxy and had used a Google Mail account to register.
Google also responded to an EDR and provided IP logins in the Minnesota area.
Agents traced Avalos to an address in Minnesota and observed him exiting a property that had his name on the mailbox.
The accused went by the username ‘Wacko’
Image credits: FBI
“Your Affiant also checked AVALOS’s criminal history and learned that he has a multistate conviction history including a July 2022 felony stalking conviction from Dakota County, an August 2016 felony third-degree domestic battery from Polk County, Florida, and an April 2016 misdemeanor domestic assault from Dakota County, which appears to have been reduced from a felony domestic assault by strangulation charge,” the FBI affidavit noted.
Avalos was arrested in Ramsey County on October 16 on charges of interstate transmission of a threat to injure the person of another.
Court documents reported by Law & Crime showed that Avalos was granted a release from custody by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko.
His release was subject to several conditions, including that he must not travel outside of Minnesota and that he must continue mental health treatment.
Avalos was also banned from using the internet without approval, is subject to a weapons ban, must wear a GPS monitor, and adhere to a curfew.