Attorney General Pam Bondi criticizes Jeffrey Epstein
Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to senators’ questions about the Jeffrey Epstein file.
A Minnesota man has been arrested and faces federal charges for allegedly offering $45,000 to kill Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In court documents obtained by USA TODAY, 29-year-old Tyler Avalos allegedly posted a threat on TikTok, telling Bondi to be “dead or alive” but “dead is better”, according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Caleb Yurchishyn.
The FBI said the investigation into Avalos began on October 9 after receiving a tip from a Detroit-based TikTok user who reported the post to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.
The TikTok that Avalos allegedly posted included a photo of Bondi with “a red dot from a sniper scope” on her forehead, according to the affidavit.
“Furthermore, the suspected user posted a comment below the description: ‘Cough cough’/’What if we don’t provide the service?’” Yurchishyn said.
In an interview with USA TODAY, Mr. Avalos’ attorney, Daniel Goertz, said, “Mr. Avalos has not committed any crime.”
Investigators said Avalos was discovered after he provided FBI agents with information showing he had registered with TikTok, Google and Comcast social media platforms using Samsung Galaxy phones.
Avalos had a criminal record, according to the affidavit. In July 2022, he was convicted of stalking in Dakota County, Minnesota, and in August 2016 on a domestic assault charge in Polk County, Florida. Separate from those two incidents, the affidavit states Avalos has a misdemeanor assault case in Dakota County in 2019 that “appears to have been reduced from a felony domestic assault by strangulation.”
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact us at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow us at X @fern_cerv_.
