Shreveport Man Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Stalking and Threatening Speaker of the House of Representatives and Threatening President of the United States

SHREVEPORT- On March 3, 2026, a federal grand jury in Shreveport returned a three-count indictment charging Justin Chadwick Butler, a 31-year-old Shreveport resident, with cyberstalking and threatening the Speaker of the House of Representatives and threatening the President of the United States. Butler faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for each count.

"Threats against public officials and our Nation's leaders are threats to our democracy and our American way of life, and we will not tolerate them," said United States Attorney Zachary A. Keller. "For those who would use the mask of internet anonymity to threaten others, the message here is clear: our many state and federal law enforcement partners will track you down, and you will face justice."

According to court documents, Butler used social media accounts to make a slew of menacing posts directed toward the Speaker while often tagging the Speaker's social media account directly. These postings included stating, for example, that the Speaker "couldnt [sic] lie so smoothly with bullet holes in his face," that the Speaker "is a traitor. Death to traitors," and that Butler "really hope[s] I see lots of dead ICE agents and Traitor Mike with a patriotic bullet through his lying face soon" while also writing that he "think[s] holes in traitors faces is the next step." Butler further wrote of the Speaker and the President that "[a] real patriot would kill some of these traitors" and that he and others would "drop those two traitors."

The United States Capitol Police, the United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana State Police, the United States Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Gaskins with assistance from Legal Assistant Amanda Morgan.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana made the announcement.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana at www.lawd.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or at https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/cmecf-pacerLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., under Case Number 26-CR-00088.

###

Public Affairs

United States Attorney's Office

Western District of Louisiana

[email protected]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla

Twitter @USAO_WDLA