Threats Against ICE Officer, Wife In GA Lead To Federal Charges

ATLANTA, GA — Two people have been indicted in connection with social media threats made against a Georgia-based federal immigration worker and his wife, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

The indictment was announced by the United States Attorney's Office's Northern District of Georgia. Prosecutors did not say when or where in Georgia the incident occurred.

They accused Frank Andrew Waszut, 41, of Tennessee, of posting an Instagram video that showed photos of an unmasked deportation officer employed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Prosecutors said Waszut added the following to the images: “And he’s an ICE agent. This is him unmasked. ... So, go ahead and make him famous. And if you see this [expletive] out in public give him the cell block one treatment. You know, catch him when he’s alone.”

"Cell block one treatment" translates to being physically violent with a detainee, prosecutors said.

Additionally, they say Anthony Patrick Noto, 63, of New York, commented under an Instagram photo of the officer's wife, saying: “Anybody wanna test the sites [sic] on their new A-R? There’s a pretty good target right there!”

A federal grand jury on Sept. 23 chose to indict Waszut and Noto, prosecutors said.

While Noto has been officially arraigned, Waszut is currently in state custody in Texas and facing charges relating to terroristic threats against Republican lawmakers in the Lone Star state.

“Federal agents deserve to perform their duties free of harassment from keyboard warriors and other agitators,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a news release. “Threatening law enforcement officers and their families is not only illegal—it’s disgusting. My office will ensure that anyone who threatens a federal agent in North Georgia, or who hides behind a computer screen to intimidate that agent’s immediate family, is found, arrested, prosecuted and held accountable.”