LUBBOCK, TX —A federal jury in Lubbock convicted a Lubbock man for issuing online threats to kill United States Secret Service agents and their families, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson.
Tristan Rene Langston, 37, of Lubbock, Texas, was charged in March 2025 with the federal offenses of transmitting threats in interstate commerce and threatening a federal law enforcement officer, stemming from online threats Langston made in February 2025. On Thursday, August 7, 2025, after a four-day trial, a federal jury convicted Langston on both counts.
According to evidence presented during trial, on February 21, 2025, Langston posted a message to X.com, formerly 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.”
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.
The jury heard evidence that Langston became angry with the two specific Secret Service agents after they investigated a threat Langston made online in 2023. Over the ensuing months, 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. Testimony established that the defendant knew the agents would perceive the graphic threat as retaliation for their investigation.
“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.”
“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 November 6, 2025.
The matter was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Howey and Sean Long of the Lubbock Division.
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