Oregon — An 18-year-old St. Helens man accused of plotting to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appeared in Columbia County court Wednesday following his arrest earlier this month.
Rayden Tanner Coleman is charged with second-degree attempted assault and unlawful manufacture of a destructive device. He previously had been reported as 37; updated court records identify him as 18.
According to reporting and court documents cited by KATU, Coleman allegedly expressed a desire to follow ICE agents home and kill them. Investigators say he admitted making statements about cutting off two ICE agents’ heads and using them to persuade others to join his cause.
Coleman appeared via video to a packed courtroom in St. Helens on Feb. 11, 2026. Media reports described an emotional hearing, with some apparent family members crying. His defense attorney declined comment.
Court records indicate Coleman allegedly discussed recruiting people from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation and referenced starting his own nation called “Cascadia.” A roommate told police Coleman had been making payments on an AR-style rifle.
Authorities say Coleman posted messages on Discord stating he intended to obtain a firearm and “actively kill any ICE agents” he saw harming civilians. A person who knew Coleman reportedly alerted police, saying his behavior had escalated around the time two individuals were shot by federal agents.
During a Feb. 4 traffic stop by the St. Helens Police Department, officers reported finding materials used to manufacture Molotov cocktails, including bottles, sand and accelerant, along with camouflage clothing and knives. After his arrest, Coleman allegedly admitted the firearm and Molotov cocktails were intended for use against ICE agents.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday it is launching a federal investigation into the case. The agency stated that threats and assaults against immigration officers have increased in recent months, including what it described as significant rises in death threats and assaults.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that violence and dehumanization directed at immigration officers “must end.” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said anyone who assaults or doxxes agency officers will be prosecuted.
Sanctuary politicians comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has real world consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must end.
– Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin
Neighbors at the apartment complex where Coleman lived told KATU they were surprised by the arrest. One neighbor described Coleman and his roommates as “model neighbors” and said they had not noticed problems prior to the law enforcement activity.
The case remains under investigation.
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