Federal prosecutors charged 29-year-old Tyler Maxon Avalos from Minnesota with threatening Attorney General Pam Bondi by posting a TikTok image offering a $45,000 reward to harm her.
The TikTok post included a target on Bondi’s forehead with the text “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE (PREFERABLY DEAD).”
The big picture: Avalos was charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure a person based on a criminal complaint filed in mid-October in U.S. District Court for Minnesota.
- Arrested on October 17, Avalos was released on a personal recognizance bond requiring court appearance promises, mental health treatment, a location tracking device, and other conditions.
Driving the news: The investigation began after a TikTok user reported the “murder for hire” threat to the FBI National Threat Operations Center on October 9.
- The suspect’s TikTok account had 79 followers, with the threatening video receiving minimal engagement (six likes and seven comments).
- The account’s username included an anarchy symbol and phrases referencing abolitionist John Brown, as well as the Minnesota 651 area code.
- Authorities obtained Avalos’s identity and device information through emergency disclosure requests to TikTok, Google, and Comcast.
Flashback: Avalos has prior convictions including felony stalking in Minnesota (2022), felony domestic battery in Florida (2016), and misdemeanor domestic assault in Minnesota (2016).
