A federal grand jury in Shreveport has indicted Justin Chadwick Butler, 31, on three counts related to cyberstalking and making threats against the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the United States. The indictment was returned on March 3, 2026. Butler could face up to five years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for each count.
According to court documents, Butler allegedly used social media accounts to post threatening messages aimed at the Speaker, sometimes tagging the Speaker’s official account. The posts included statements such as that the Speaker “couldnt [sic] lie so smoothly with bullet holes in his face,” called the Speaker “a traitor,” and said “Death to traitors.” In another post, Butler wrote he hoped to see “lots of dead ICE agents and Traitor Mike with a patriotic bullet through his lying face soon” and added that he thought “holes in traitors faces is the next step.” Additional messages referred to both the Speaker and President: “[a] real patriot would kill some of these traitors” and that he and others would “drop those two traitors.”
United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller commented on the case: “Threats against public officials and our Nation’s leaders are threats to our democracy and our American way of life, and we will not tolerate them. For those who would use the mask of internet anonymity to threaten others, the message here is clear: our many state and federal law enforcement partners will track you down, and you will face justice.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including United States Capitol Police, United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police, United States Marshals Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Gaskins is prosecuting the case with support from Legal Assistant Amanda Morgan.
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller announced the indictment.
Authorities emphasized that an indictment is only an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Additional information about this case can be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana (www.justice.gov/usao-wdla) or by searching Case Number 26-CR-00088 at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacer.
