Crime and Political Violence

West Virginia State Police arrested 20‑year‑old Cody Smith of Harrison County after a Jan. 19, 2026 complaint that he had posted online videos threatening to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, a Department of Homeland Security employee who took his call, and supporters of President Donald Trump. According to a criminal complaint cited by local outlets, troopers say Smith recorded himself saying he would 'attack and kill ICE agents' and 'murder Trump supporters and or war supporters, or service members willing to bootlick,' and also issued a direct threat against Trump. He is charged under state law with making terroristic threats and is being held at North Central Regional Jail on $75,000 bond, with no attorney of record noted in court files. The case surfaces as DHS officials publicly warn of a sharp increase in assaults and threats against ICE and Border Patrol personnel, and follows a separate West Virginia arrest of a librarian accused of recruiting 'snipers' online to assassinate Trump, highlighting an uptick in politically motivated threat cases that law enforcement says it is taking seriously.

Court documents say 28-year-old Christian Joel Young has been charged with aggravated burglary, assaulting an elected official and simple assault after allegedly unlawfully entering a private CAA talent party at the High West Saloon during the Sundance Film Festival and punching Rep. Maxwell Frost while using racist threats and a slur — Frost said the man told him “Trump was going to deport” him and that he was not injured. Police and the affidavit allege Young also grabbed and shoved a woman, reportedly bragged about being white before the attack, and was ordered held without bail by Judge Richard Mrazik as a flight risk and substantial danger to the community.