The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced that a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against David Kerr, a 68-year-old Knoxville man accused of threatening to injure and kill agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in posts made to the left-wing social media platform Bluesky.
Kerr pleaded not guilty during his appearance before a federal court on Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, which said that Kerr was detained pending a November 2026 trial.
The Knoxville man is accused of using the social media platform Bluesky, which benefited from progressive users who migrated from X, formerly known as Twitter, after owner Elon Musk campaigned for President Donald Trump in 2024.
According to the DOJ, Kerr is accused of writing in a June 4, 2025, post to Bluesky that it was, “Time to bear spray ICE!”
About four months later, on October 7, 2025, Kerr is accused of writing in another post to Bluesky, “Kill the ice military police!”
Kerr is charged with two counts of making interstate threats. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison. For each charge, he could also face three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation was completed by ICE – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), according to the DOJ press release.
An ICE spokesman reportedly said last week that death threats against ICE agents have increased by 8,000 percent, while assaults against agents have increased by 1,300 percent.
While about 22.1 million people reportedly used Bluesky in late 2024, driven partially by the number of left-wing users who joined the platform over objections to Musk’s relationship with Trump, TechCrunch reported last month that more than half of these users have stopped using the website.
About 10.7Â million people now use the platform at least once a month, according to the outlet.
While Bluesky use appears to be declining, the platform has nonetheless attracted support from various institutions. These include the Metro Nashville Government in Middle Tennessee, where Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office lists the left-wing platform as a source for “primary communications for general Metro Government matters.”
The Trump administration also joined Bluesky last October.
– – –
Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
