August 2025 TorchStone Global Monthly Executive Protection Report
TorchStone Global believes that broader situational awareness and intelligence are key to providing quality executive protection—whether the principal is a Fortune 500 CEO, international celebrity, or local city council member. With that in mind, we are launching our monthly executive protection report, cataloging incidents we have captured through our open-source searches that are relevant to the practice of executive protection. We hope the report will serve as a centralized source of threat activity to provide insight into current trends in threats to high-profile individuals.
For more information on customized threat tracking for at-risk individuals, threat assessments, executive protection, or other security services, please contact us.
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Summary
The TorchStone Executive Protection Report tracked 23 domestic and 15 international security incidents or updates to prior incidents impacting high-profile individuals during the month of August 2025. Below are some key incidents of note over the past month.
- In another example of how professional home burglary crews utilize online tools to plan their attacks, police suspect that the criminals who targeted the home of former UK Premier League football manager, Harry Redknapp, studied floor plans of the residence from the British real estate portal, Rightmove. No residents or security personnel were on-site at the time of the break-in, but the incident was recorded by CCTV cameras. Previously, the assailant who targeted Minnesota state lawmakers in June 2025 used easily accessible online databases to identify details about his targets. TorchStone has noted how the home is the most common location that high high-profile individuals are targeted. In addition to installing an effective home alarm system, it is important to know which details about your home are publicly available and take steps to remove sensitive information from the internet.
- A Tennessee man appears to have used a threat against local officials and law enforcement to set up an attack against responding authorities. Polk County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the man’s house on August 1 to arrest him on charges related to his threats, but noticed something smoldering in the suspect’s bedroom. The deputies immediately evacuated the home, and responding ATF agents later discovered 14 IEDs inside that failed to detonate as intended. The suspect later revealed his plan to detonate the devices during his arrest. This case highlights the use of threats against high-profile individuals as part of a larger plot.
- Two more professional baseball players came forward last month with details about threats made to them and their loved ones that they believe are linked to sports betting. Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tayler Saucedo addressed a death threat against him and his girlfriend on Instagram following a poor performance earlier that same day. Two days later, Baltimore Orioles pitcher Cade Povich responded to a violent threat addressed to his wife on Instagram. This threat appeared to be in response to Povich’s loss earlier in the day. Documenting threats against high-profile individuals through a robust threat intelligence program is key to executive protection.
Business Executive
| Location: Galway, NY | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 13, 2025: A man was charged with cyberstalking a family member of the late UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The man left four voicemails over the course of several days on a work line used by Thompson’s relative, which was likely open source. The first voicemail was left on December 4, 2024—the day of Thompson’s killing. The messages attempted to justify Thompson’s death, claiming he deserved to die for his alleged exploitation of “poor Americans” and that his family deserved a similar fate to his own.
| Location: Redmond, WA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Office |
August 26, 2025: Following protests in the Microsoft campus plaza the previous week, pro-Palestine protestors illegally entered one of Microsoft’s office buildings and occupied VP Brad Smith’s office, which resulted in a lockdown of the building. The protestors streamed their intrusion of the office on Twitch—during which they put up a sign denouncing Smith’s alleged support of Israeli war efforts—before they were apprehended by police. A couple of the arrested protestors were Microsoft employees and were promptly fired after the incident. Per Microsoft officials, the company learned that one of the protestors reportedly inquired about the building’s floor plans earlier in the week.
Celebrity
| Location: Dorset, UK | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
July 25, 2025: Former football manager Harry Redknapp’s residence was broken into and burglarized. The burglars broke down the front door of the residence with hammers. No residents or security personnel were on-site at the time of the break-in, but the incident was recorded by CCTV cameras. It is suspected that the burglars were aided in their break-in with floor plan information provided by a listing on the British real estate portal Rightmove. Due to personal reservations, Redknapp did not immediately report the incident to media outlets.
| Location: Lagos, Nigeria | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 1, 2025: Nollywood actor Jigan Babaoja reported receiving persistent death threats and harassment. Following his involvement in a WhatsApp chat that was allegedly tied to the death of a musician, the actor’s personal phone number was leaked online, which led to increasing instances of harassment via calls and SMS. Babaoja claimed to be the subject of a targeted campaign of cyberbullying and has threatened police intervention and legal action against the perpetrators.
| Location: Hoover, AL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
August 6, 2025: Comedian Michael Rapaport’s stand-up performance was cancelled after its venue received a large number of messages urging the cancellation of the show. The threats were a result of Rapaport’s outspoken public support for Israel. The club owner cited safety concerns for guests, staff, and the performer, stating the decision was made to avoid a “potentially volatile situation.” The owner also noted that the messages appeared to come from individuals with unclear ties to any groups or organizations opposing Israel.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
UPDATE August 7, 2025: Two men associated with the previously reported June 26 burglary of Brad Pitt’s home were arrested while planning a break-in at another residence in nearby Orange County. The suspects were identified by LAPD via their investigation of security camera footage; they were charged with first-degree burglary.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
August 8, 2025: Burglars broke into actress Jennifer Freeman’s Hollywood home by smashing a rear glass door, according to LAPD. The break-in was reported just before 9 PM and no one was home during the incident. This event is part of a recent wave of high-profile home invasions across Los Angeles, including Hollywood Hills and Encino, prompting increased patrols in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
| Location: New York, NY | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Public Area |
August 17, 2025: Social media influencer Ariela Mejia-Polanco, A.K.A. Ariela Lalangosta, was found shot and killed in her car off the side of a highway. Mejia-Polanco was last seen leaving her workplace around 4:30 AM on Sunday. Mejia-Polanco’s killing was likely targeted, but the identity of her killer remains uncertain. An investigation is ongoing.
| Location: Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 17, 2025: Musician Ernesto Barajas, of the band Enigma Norteño, was assassinated by hitmen who followed him into a parking lot. Barajas was a prolific musician in the narcocorrido genre—a genre of Mexican folk music that glorifies drug cartels and their operations. It is likely that Barajas’ assassination was the result of conflict with a cartel that rivaled those which financially supported Enigma Norteño.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 19, 2025: Georgia Tennant, the wife of British actor David Tennant, revealed that a Facebook user had threatened her life. Georgia Tennant posted a screenshot of an alleged Facebook post stating, “Whoever kills Georgia Tennant immediately will receive a reward from me.” The original post was dated August 19, but Georgia Tennant revealed the threat on her Instagram account on September 3.
| Location: Philadelphia, PA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 21, 2025: Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tayler Saucedo addressed a death threat made against him and his girlfriend on Instagram following a poor performance against the Philadelphia Phillies earlier in the day. This incident is reflective of a significant increase in the number of violent threats made towards various athletes in recent times, connected to sports betting.
| Location: Beverly Hills, CA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
August 22, 2025: Police arrested a 38-year-old male in the early morning hours for allegedly attempting to burglarize Lionel Richie’s Beverly Hills home while the singer was inside. Security footage captured the intruder entering the residence before fleeing when the alarm sounded. Responding officers tracked the suspect a few blocks away near Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Glen. The apprehended suspect faces charges of residential burglary.
| Location: Baltimore, MD | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 23, 2025: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Cade Povich responded to a violent threat addressed to his wife on Instagram. This threat appeared to be in response to Povich’s poor performance during a 10-7 loss to the Houston Astros earlier in the day. This is the second such violent threat addressed to an MLB player this month—Povich noted that he is “not alone” in his and his family being subject to these threats.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
August 27, 2025: A man interrupted Travis Scott’s music video shooting when he persistently walked onto the set during filming attempts. In response, a crew member confronted the man, which led to him drawing a concealed blade and threatening to stab the crew member. The set went into lockdown, and police arrested the man after he refused to be searched for paraphernalia.
| Location: New York, NY | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
August 30, 2025: Tennis player Sorana Cîrstea reported that a trophy she won from an earlier tournament was stolen from her room at Manhattan’s Fifty Sonesta Hotel. The NYPD claimed that “no complaint reports were on file” regarding the theft. Furthermore, the hotel’s manager stated that its director of security is overseeing an investigation into the theft.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
August 31, 2025: Burglars broke into actress Tracee Ellis Ross’s L.A. residence around 12:30 AM, smashing a rear glass door and stealing more than $100,000 worth of jewelry and handbags, according to LAPD. Staff members discovered the break-in when they arrived, and officers later confirmed no one was home during the incident.
Federal Government
| Location: Nashville, TN | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
May 30, 2025: The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Middle Tennessee confirmed the arrest of a woman who left a voicemail threatening to kill U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn. The 22-year-old woman reportedly left a voicemail for the Senator’s Nashville office which described her intent to murder Blackburn in graphic detail. The woman was charged with “making a threat to murder a federal official” and faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
| Location: Petaling Jaya, Malaysia | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
July 2, 2025: Na’im Brundage, an executive council member of the BERSATU party’s youth wing, was subject to a death threat from an unknown individual. Notably, the suspect threatened to splash acid on Brundage. An investigation into the identity of the suspect is ongoing.
| Location: Bogota, Colombia | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
UPDATE August 11, 2025: Miguel Uribe, a 39-year-old Colombian senator and presidential hopeful, died on August 11, two months after being shot at a campaign rally in Bogotá.
| Location: Putrajaya, Malaysia | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 13, 2025: Malaysia’s former Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli, revealed that two unidentified men attacked his son while entering a car. The suspects grabbed Ramli’s son and used a syringe to inject an unknown substance into him. The men appear to have been following Ramli’s family by motorcycle before the attack. After the attack, the child was immediately taken to a local hospital, and police were called to the scene. Ramli’s family provided statements to the police; it is believed that the attack was politically motivated and intended to silence Ramli’s outspoken views.
| Location: Scranton, PA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 14, 2025: U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan and his fiancée, Chelsea Strub, received threatening messages sent via a form on the RSVP site for their wedding. One of the comments was signed from “Luigi,” claiming they would visit the couple soon—an allusion to Luigi Mangione and the murder of Brian Thompson. Bresnahan is working with the Metropolitan Police Department and Scranton Police to further address the threats.
| Location: Washington, D.C. | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 16, 2025: A woman who posted death threats towards President Donald Trump on social media was arrested after attending a protest near the White House. The Secret Service linked the woman to a series of threats made to Trump across the suspect’s Facebook and Instagram accounts over the course of the month. In the posts, the suspect demonstrated an extreme negative fixation on Trump and even stated that she was “willing to sacrificially kill him.” The day prior to her arrest, the suspect submitted to a voluntary interview with the Secret Service, during which she doubled down on her negative perception of Trump as well as her intent to kill him—even stating that she had a “bladed object” with which to carry out the murder. The suspect’s criminal case is currently under review.
| Location: Philippi, South Africa | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 18, 2025: Three South African MPs—Ian Cameron, Lisa-Maré Schickerling and Nicholas Gotsell—were subject to an attempted robbery after departing from a police training event. Gotsell and Cameron sustained minor injuries while resisting the assailants.
| Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 27, 2025: Protesters pelted Argentinian President Javier Milei and his sister with stones during a caravan. Milei’s security detail quickly intervened and effectively shielded the principals from any harm. Consequently, the campaign rally that the caravan was heading to was postponed as civil unrest ensued.
| Location: Lviv, Ukraine | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 30, 2025: Ukrainian MP Andriy Parubiy was shot and killed while walking in the streets of Lviv. The assassin was disguised as a food delivery worker and briefly trailed Parubiy before shooting him multiple times. National law enforcement and various government officials suspect that the assassin was a Russian asset and have noted his sophisticated tracking of Parubiy’s schedule and routines.
State Government
| Location: Bethel, CT | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Home |
August 2, 2025: Connecticut State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan reported an increase in threatening messages addressed to him in response to charges of shoplifting against him while in office. Specifically, he addressed a defaced campaign sign just down the road from his private residence, which derided the area’s residents for voting for him. Although Allie-Brennan stated that he is working with Hartford police to investigate these threats against him in general, he did not describe any other specific threats outside of the sign incident.
| Location: St. Charles, IL | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 6, 2025: A bomb threat was made to a hotel at which Democrat Texas state representatives were staying amid their efforts to prevent the passage of state redistricting legislation. In total, 400 people were evacuated from the hotel. Police later determined the threat to be a hoax.
| Location: St. Charles, IL | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 8, 2025: Another bomb threat was called in at the same hotel two days later, with many of the same Texas State Representatives still in attendance. Investigations into both instances are ongoing.
| Location: Phoenix, AZ | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 8, 2025: Arizona state Senator Analise Ortiz reported that she had received death threats, as well as calls for her deportation, in response to her revealing the locations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on social media. A notable right-wing social media presence—as well as Republican Arizona State Senators—have called out Ortiz, accusing her of “obstruction of justice” and of “doxxing” law enforcement individuals. However, none of Ortiz’ posts revealed the identities or personal information of any ICE agents.
| Location: Hartford, CT | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 19, 2025: Connecticut State Representative Corey Paris received threats of violence via phone calls after he posted the locations of local ICE operations on his Instagram account. The call came after a notable right-wing social media presence identified Paris’ post and called for his arrest in an X post that received millions of views. The right-wing account’s post was reposted by ICE’s X account. The accusations and threats levied against Paris reflect an ongoing trend of threats lobbied at politicians who have posted about ICE operations on social media.
| Location: Austin, TX | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 19, 2025: A social media threat urging protestors to kill “those who will not allow lawmakers to leave” led to the evacuation and lockdown of the Texas State Capitol. The threat came amid the Texas House Democrats’ protest against a state redistricting bill. Efforts to identify the individual who posted the threat are ongoing.
Local Government
| Location: Old Fort, TN | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
August 1, 2025: Police discovered improvised explosive devices while apprehending a man who threatened to kill local public officials. The police, with ATF support, discovered 14 IEDs within the residence. Further investigation revealed that the suspect intended to detonate the explosives during the police response. The suspect remains in custody.
| Location: San Antonio, TX | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 12, 2025: San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz was subject to death threats from a man on X, who was consequently arrested. The man’s comment was made in response to Ortiz’ plans to pause development of the city’s entertainment district. Public service employees notified San Antonio PD, who promptly issued a warrant for and arrested the suspect. The suspect was charged with threatening a public servant, a third-degree penalty per the Texas Penal Code.
| Location: Pocatello, ID | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 27, 2025: Local authorities placed a man in mental health protective custody after he made serious threats against Pocatello mayor, Brian Blad. Federal authorities warned local police about the man in April of 2025, during protests over the police-involved lethal shooting of a 17-year-old local earlier in the year. Police detained the man after they discovered online threats against the mayor attributed to him.
| Location: Penticton, British Columbia, Canada | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 28, 2025: A senior member of Penticton’s municipal staff was subject to violent threats on social media following a recent dialogue on transportation planning in the city. The city’s law enforcement is working with the RCMP to investigate the situation.
| Location: Seoul, South Korea | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
August 29, 2025: Police apprehended a man in his 20s suspected of threatening to murder the mayor of Seoul due to grievances linked to an ongoing road construction project. However, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon requested that police release the man, indicating that he would not seek punishment for the threats.
Community Leader
| Location: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Office |
August 11, 2025: Satbir Cheema, CEO of the Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society, was attacked outside his office. As he loaded his car, a white Dodge Ram pulled up, and a masked passenger exited and sprayed Cheema with pepper spray before fleeing. Cheema avoided direct contact and suffered only minor exposure. CCTV captured the incident, which PICS described as a targeted attack. Police noted the truck had obscured plates. An investigation is ongoing.
| Location: Phoenix, AZ | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
August 16, 2025: A local religious leader, Imam Kareem Al-Saadi, was attacked outside his mosque by an unidentified assailant. Witnesses reported that the attacker shouted anti-Muslim rhetoric before striking Al-Saadi with a blunt object. The imam sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a nearby hospital. Police are investigating the assault as a potential hate crime.