A federal grand jury in Minnesota has indicted James Patrick Lyons, 45, of California, on five counts of interstate transmission of threats to injure federal law enforcement officers. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.
Court documents state that the charges stem from an incident on January 14, 2026, when a group of protesters in Minneapolis vandalized and damaged FBI vehicles during a response to an immigration enforcement action. The protesters reportedly stole weapons, ammunition, government equipment, and documents containing personal information about federal employees. The FBI clarified that its personnel were present to investigate an officer-involved shooting rather than for immigration enforcement purposes. Five FBI Special Agents had their personal details confiscated and published online.
On January 18, 2026, these five Special Agents received threatening text messages on their government-issued phones. An FBI investigation linked one of the phone numbers used to send the threats to James Patrick Lyons. According to investigators, all five messages used similar language and indicated that the sender knew the identities and locations of the Special Agents.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the ongoing investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Bejar is prosecuting the case.
“An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent.”
