A federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment on Dec. 2, 2025, in case No. 4:25-cr-00463 before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Before trial, defense counsel filed an opposed motion to dismiss, pressing a First Amendment challenge to the charges. Judge Gregory Frizzell rejected that motion, ruling that a reasonable jury could view the posts as genuine threats of violence rather than protected political speech. The court also addressed the defendant's secondary argument that the posts qualified as incitement under *Brandenburg v. Ohio*, concluding that the speech fit squarely within the rationale for excluding true threats from First Amendment protection. The case proceeded to a jury trial that began April 20, 2026. [1][2]
Homeland Security Investigations personnel flagged Murfin's posts on X, made under the handle "Azulenq," after receiving an intelligence tip in October 2025. [1] At various times from July to October 2025, Murfin allegedly posted five statements on X calling for violence against ICE agents. [2] Authorities traced the posts to Murfin's home in Skiatook through search warrants tied to the account. [1] At trial, the jury heard a recording in which Murfin admitted to making the posts. Following his arrest, Murfin told agents he was angry and "pissed off" at ICE officers and acknowledged authoring the posts, according to the DOJ. [1] On April 27, 2026, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all 10 federal counts: five counts of threatening to assault and kill federal law enforcement officers, and five counts of interstate communication of threats. [1][2]
Murfin was taken into custody following the verdict; he had been on bond before trial began. A sentencing date has not been set. [2] Each count of threatening to assault and murder a federal law enforcement officer carries a potential maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. § 115, and each count of interstate communication of a threat carries a maximum of five years under 18 U.S.C. § 875, for a combined statutory exposure across all 10 counts that substantially exceeds the advisory Guidelines range a pre-sentence report will calculate.
The conviction places *United States v. Murfin* among a set of prosecutions testing how courts apply the Supreme Court's "true threats" doctrine, most recently clarified in *Counterman v. Colorado* (2023), to social-media posts directed at a class of federal officers rather than a specific named individual. Judge Frizzell's pretrial order concluded that a reasonable jury could construe Murfin's statements as true threats, meaning communications where the speaker intends to convey a serious expression of intent to commit unlawful violence against a group of individuals. [2] No post-trial motions have been reported, and no appeal has been filed as of the verdict date. The case will return to court when a sentencing date is scheduled.
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**Meta Description:** A federal jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma convicted Logan Christopher Murfin, 26, on 10 counts for posting threats against ICE agents on X, after Judge Frizzell rejected a First Amendment challenge pretrial.
**Slug:** united-states-v-murfin-ice-threats-conviction-2026
**Tags:** Criminal, Federal Court, NDOK, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Violent Crime, Gun Crime, True Threats, Interstate Communication of Threats, Conspiracy, Conviction, Logan Christopher Murfin, United States, Hon. Gregory K. Frizzell
**Metadata:**
– case_number: 4:25-cr-00463
– court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
– court_short: NDOK
– jurisdiction: federal
– state: OK
– venue_city: Tulsa
– tier: regional
– verdict_type: criminal
– verdict_date: 2026-04-27
– judge: Gregory K. Frizzell
– plaintiffs: United States
– defendants: Logan Christopher Murfin
– plaintiff_counsel: N/A
– defense_counsel: Jared Guemmer (Federal Public Defender, N.D. Okla.)
– legal_theories: True Threats, Interstate Communication of Threats
– damages_compensatory_usd: N/A
– damages_punitive_usd: N/A
– damages_total_usd: N/A
– charges_or_claims: Threatening to assault and murder federal law enforcement officers (5 counts); Interstate communication of threats (5 counts)
– convicted_counts: Threatening to assault and murder federal law enforcement officers (5 counts); Interstate communication of threats (5 counts)
– acquitted_counts: N/A
– hung_counts: N/A
**References:**
[1] Daily Caller. (2026, April 27). Jury Convicts Man Of Threatening To Gun Down ICE Agents. https://dailycaller.com/2026/04/27/jury-convicts-man-threatening-gun-down-ice-agents-oklahoma-social-media/
[2] Liberty Unyielding. (2026, April 27). Jury Convicts Man Of Threatening To Kill ICE Agents. https://libertyunyielding.com/2026/04/27/jury-convicts-man-of-threatening-to-kill-ice-agents/
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