Leftist Portland activist charged with threatening to kill federal agents, sexually assault their wives

A Portland, Oregon man has been charged with making threats against a federal law enforcement officer. John Paul Cupp, 45, is accused of making violent threats against federal agents and their wives.

FBI Portland said that on October 14, Cupp yelled at law enforcement outside Portland’s ICE facility, threatening to kill officers, sexually assault their wives, and harm their children. Similar threats were made against federal agents and their wives in a video posted online on November 3, as well as on November 13. 

Acting FBIPortland Special Agent in Charge Matt Torres said, "Threats to law enforcement personnel have absolutely no place in our community. Attempts to intimidate those sworn to protect the American people and uphold our Constitution degrade efforts to keep all of us safe. The FBI will use all investigative means available to us to seek out and arrest anyone using violent rhetoric to express themselves."

Cupp is a Muslim convert who also goes by the names "Walid" and "Abu Nusaybah al-Amriki." The Portland ICE facility has seen daily protests and unrest since June from Antifa and other agitators. The FBI noted that "Cupp is a prolific producer of online content and regularly posts aggressive rhetoric, calls for war against the United States, antisemitic threats, and threats of violence."

Among the posts made by Cupp was one in which he is seen folding up a middle finger with text over his face that states in all capital letters, "Allaah took everythimg (sic) from me and knocked me on my a** to send me off on the Yahya Sinwar road to socialism for Portland. I call bullsh*t on these 'revolutionary' groups. Would you actually kill and die for our young people? Building that unitary mission until I flop over, my brains are on the sidewalk, or they dump me in a cell. Allahu akbar, power to the people!"

Playing in the background is the song Bella Ciao, a song used by Antifa, lyrics to which were also referenced by Charlie Kirk assassination suspect Tyler Robinson. 

 

An affidavit from a special agent assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force stated that in mid-July, Cupp posted to the Russian social media platform VK "a video of himself discussing localized resistance and using lone wolves to target the government. Specifically, when discussing a response to the possibility of National Guard troops being deployed to Portland, Cupp says, 'A combination of mass political work hand-in-hand with fringe elements willing to engage in armed struggle, uh, looking at places where the federal center is weak, getting the lowest hanging fruit using guerilla actions, small member groups, less than five, lone wolves are the best, two to five people you immediately know, willing to go and engage the low-handing fruit and pop them and give them body bags.'"

"Based on my familiarity with this investigation and knowledge of Cupp, I believe Cupp is advocating for using lone wolves to target and kill members of the federal government, including tropps," the affidavit stated. 

The affidavit also noted that Cupp "regularly" posts content online about his hatred of "the Jews," and how he believes that the Holocaust never happened. In one November 2024 video titled "The Coming Destruction of the Jews and its Spiritual Meaning," Cupp said, "The destruction of the Jews, the most cataclysmic destruction in their history, will come about in America. And the destruction of the Jews that shall come will be much, much larger than the so-called Holocaust. They will be targeted, they will be hunted, they will face annihilation."

In April 2025, a judge in Clackamas County signed a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his wife or three children. "The terms of the restraining order do not permit Cupp to have a firearm. In the paperwork pertaining to the restraining order, his wife claimed Cupp had bipolar disorder; she also alleged he told her he would kill her and then go out and harm the community until taken down by police if she did not reconcile with him," the affidavit stated. "At some point during this timeframe, Cupp left the family’s residence and began sleeping on the streets in downtown Portland."

The affidavit stated that starting in mid-June, "Cupp began showing up at the ICE building protests" and has "been a regular participant."

The affidavit said of the October threats aimed at federal agents, "That evening, as a group of federal law enforcement officers approached a crowd of protesters, Cupp began yelling insults at the officers and threatened to behead them and rape their wives."

"Specifically, Cupp stated: 'You know who I am. I’m going to have your head on a stick and mail it to your wife. And then I’m going to f*ck her brains out in front of it[.]' Cupp then turns to the protester standing next to him and loudly says: 'I was threatening to [UI]…I told them I was going to marinate them in barbeque sauce and cook them, and bite their arm while they’re still alive.'"

The ICE Public Affairs Officer based in Tampa, Florida who was present at the Portland ICE facility on October 14, identified in the affidavit as "M.M.," said that he heard numerous threats from protestors during his time there, "but he recalled Cupp’s threats as 'the most egregious.' M.M. said Cupp was known to federal officers at the ICE facility as 'Jihad John’ due to his previous threats made against officers."

The affidavit later added, "Another common theme in Cupp’s social media content is his desire to seek martyrdom." A July 2025 post to social media stated, "An effective Revolutionary must yearn in years for martyrdom. In this way you are unbreakable and live life in an elevated liberated way even in poverty and repression."