A Lubbock man was convicted for making online threats to kill Secret Service agents and their families.
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Lubbock man was convicted by a federal jury for making online threats to kill United States Secret Service agents and their families, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Tristan Rene Langston, 37, was charged in March 2025 with the federal offenses of “transmitting threats in interstate commerce” and “threatening a federal law enforcement officer.” The charges stemmed from online threats Langston made in February 2025.
According to evidence presented during the trial, on Feb. 21, Langston posted a message to X, formerly known as Twitter, criticizing two U.S. Secret Service agents and then declaring, “2nd Amendment in full effect. Gonna slit the throats of agents and their families.”
The DOJ said evidence in the case revealed that Langston’s statements went well beyond mere political rhetoric or bluster and constituted true threats directed at specific federal agents. According to the DOJ, the jury heard evidence that Langston became angry with the two specific Secret Service agents after they investigated a threat Langston made online two years prior, in 2023. Over the ensuing months, the DOJ said Langston targeted one of the agents and his family in online posts and “memorialized the anger and resentment he harbored against the agents” in videos and notes he maintained on his cellphone over a period of years.
“Targeting federal agents and their families with threats of violence is not protected speech — it is a federal crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson. “This verdict reaffirms our office’s commitment to take all threats seriously and to hold accountable those who try to intimidate and terrorize our law enforcement partners.”
After a four-day trial, on Aug. 7, a federal jury convicted Langston on both counts he faced.
“We commend the jury’s decision in finding Tristan Langston guilty of threatening to kill United States Secret Service agents and their families,” said Christina Foley, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Dallas Field Office. “Threats against federal law enforcement officers and their loved ones are taken with the utmost seriousness, and this verdict reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting those who serve.”
Langston faces a maximum prison sentence of 15 years in federal prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6, according to the DOJ.