Waterville Man Sentenced for Making Interstate Threats

BANGOR, Maine: A Waterville man was sentenced on October 7, 2025, in U.S. District Court in Bangor for making threatening interstate communications. 

U.S. District Judge Stacey D. Neumann sentenced Benjamin Brown, 47, to time-served, which is approximately 6 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Brown pleaded guilty on June 27, 2025.

According to court records, on February 8, 2024, Brown posted comments on YouTube threatening to hunt down and kill illegal immigrants. In his comments, Brown said that no one could stop him from killing illegal immigrants, not even law enforcement. Federal agents had previously met with Brown on two separate occasions to discuss other comments he had posted online and warned him about the federal crime of interstate threats.

“Words matter, and when those words are violent threats, the FBI takes them seriously,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “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.”

“There is no online safe haven for threats to kill others,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Benson. “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 FBI and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Waterville Police Department.

Editor’s Note:
This matter occurred on the date indicated, but the press release was not published at that time due to the federal government shutdown. The release was posted and made available following the return to normal operations.

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