A Waterville resident, Benjamin Brown, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor on October 7, 2025, for making threatening interstate communications. Brown, age 47, received a sentence of time served—approximately six months in prison—and will be subject to three years of supervised release. He had pleaded guilty to the charge on June 27, 2025.
Court records show that on February 8, 2024, Brown posted comments on YouTube threatening to hunt down and kill illegal immigrants. In these comments, he claimed that not even law enforcement could stop him from carrying out his threats. Federal agents had previously met with Brown twice regarding other online comments and warned him about the federal crime of making interstate threats.
Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, commented: “Words matter, and when those words are violent threats, the FBI takes them seriously. What Benjamin Brown did in threatening to hunt down and kill illegal immigrants was not only reprehensible but criminal, and he is now being held accountable. We will continue to work with our partners to identify and bring to justice those who use the internet to incite fear and threaten violence.”
U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Benson stated: “There is no online safe haven for threats to kill others. Indeed, threats posted online can have a much broader impact than those made in person. No matter how frustrated or angry you are, don’t post threats to kill someone else unless you want law enforcement to show up and hold you accountable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the hard-working investigators from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service for their work on this case.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service with support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as the Waterville Police Department.
The press release notes that although the incident occurred earlier in the year, its publication was delayed due to a federal government shutdown.
