Southern Maine Man Pleads Guilty to Transmitting Interstate Threat

A 25-year-old man from Cornish has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to transmitting a threatening interstate communication after posting a racially charged threat on the social media platform X.

According to court records, Blake Tibbetts became involved in an angry exchange with another X user and used a racial epithet in his response. In the post, Tibbetts threatened to pay “a visit VERY soon” to the user’s “kind” and said he would be sending “them” his “condolences.”

The plea was entered before a federal judge. Tibbetts now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled; it will follow the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office.

A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant statutory factors. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Maine State Police, and the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal.