October 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 22 domestic and 18 international security incidents or updates to prior incidents impacting high-profile individuals during the month of October. Below are some key incidents of note over the past month.
- Authorities arrested a man who traveled from Texas to the New York offices of investment firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts to issue repeated threats against the firm’s CEO. This was at least the second time that the man had targeted the firm: In 2024, the man visited the firm’s Menlo Park, CA, offices and issued similar threats. The incident highlights the importance of a company-wide protective intelligence program that documents threats to executives and monitors individuals of interest in case they resume threats.
- Authorities also thwarted three separate attack plots against federal/national leaders around the world. In Europe, authorities disrupted a plot targeting Belgian and Dutch politicians: the perpetrators had acquired weapons and stored them in a building near the Belgian Prime Minister’s residence. In the United Kingdom, police arrested a man armed with an edged weapon lurking outside the home of the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. Finally, in Palm Beach County, FL, U.S. Secret Service agents discovered a suspicious hunting stand that had a direct line of sight on the tarmac where President Trump was scheduled to land. While there was no further evidence of an active plot, Secret Service agents disassembled the stand and took extra security precautions for President Trump’s arrival.
- October 2025 saw the highest number of threats against community leaders since TorchStone began recording incidents in May 2023. Four of the six incidents targeting community leaders this month were attacks, including a physical assault on a Rabbi in New Jersey, a shooting in Bogota, Colombia, targeting a Venezuelan human rights activist, and a bombing that targeted an Italian investigative journalist covering organized crime. There are no indications that the attacks are in any way connected, and all are consistent with previous threats. This month’s increase highlights the Community Leader category, which covers activists, journalists, religious leaders, legal representatives overseeing politically sensitive cases, and other unelected figures who hold leadership positions in their communities. Such individuals are particularly vulnerable to attacks, since they often have fewer security resources but are still very exposed due to their work.
Business Executive
| Location: New York, NY | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Office |
October 3, 2025: A man threatened to kill an unnamed executive of the Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) investment firm. The man traveled from Texas to threaten KKR’s CEO and is suspected of being behind a bomb scare at the Hudson Yards subway station. Police eventually apprehended the perpetrator, who has a demonstrated history of negative fixation on KKR and its C-Suite. In a similar incident in 2024, he intruded upon KKR’s offices in Menlo Park, CA, and verbally threatened two other unnamed KKR executives.
| Location: Macomb Township, MI | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 14, 2025: An assailant shot Eddie Jawad, a well-known Detroit metro area entrepreneur, as he was entering his driveway. The assailant, who waited for Jawad between two vehicles parked in the driveway, shot Jawad in the right leg and pursued Jawad as his vehicle veered into the lawn. Jawad fired a warning shot back at the assailant, which prompted the assailant to flee. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
| Location: Apatzingan, Michoacan, Mexico | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
October 20, 2025: Police discovered the body of Bernardo Bravo, president of the Apatzingan Valley Citrus Producers Association, in his vehicle, abandoned on an unspecified road. An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Bravo was likely killed by cartel members since he recently criticized the influence of organized crime over commercial lime production in local media interviews.
Celebrity
| Location: Singapore | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Public Area |
September 19, 2025: Indian authorities arrested two members of musician Zubeen Garg’s protection detail on October 10 after questioning them on his mysterious death in Singapore a month earlier. The two security officers made deposits totaling ₹1.1 crore (USD $124,181) into both of their bank accounts in the weeks following Garg’s death. So far, authorities have arrested and questioned seven people potentially connected to Garg’s death.
| Location: Seoul, South Korea | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 8, 2025: Fans of the K-pop boy band BTS lobbied for music label BIGHIT MUSIC—as well as its parent company, HYBE—to take legal action against various alleged burner X accounts actively threatening band member Jimin. These demands arose due to a gradual increase in threats of physical harm and stalking directed at Jimin. Fans have criticized BIGHIT and HYBE for their lack of clarity in addressing these threats despite their “zero-tolerance” stance towards threats to their clients.
| Location: Miami, FL | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 9, 2025: Security personnel ejected a fan from a Billie Eilish concert after he aggressively grabbed the singer during her performance. Footage of the incident showed Eilish interacting with fans in the front row before an audience member grabbed and pulled her into the crowd, causing her to stumble back against a nearby barricade. Security personnel subsequently pushed the offender back, causing him to release Eilish. The incident occurred at the Kaseya Center during the first show of the singer’s Hit Me Hard And Soft tour.
| Location: Brussels, Belgium | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 11, 2025: The mayor of the Forest municipality in Brussels ordered the cancellation of an upcoming show featuring heavy metal bands Disturbed and Megadeth. The mayor cited “security risks” around potential civil unrest in response to Disturbed frontman David Draiman’s pro-Israel stances—unrest that ongoing demonstrations and upcoming national strikes could have further exacerbated.
| Location: San Diego, CA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
October 17, 2025: Security personnel intervened at a TwitchCon meet-and-greet after a male attendee attempted to grab and kiss prominent content creator Emily Schunk (Emiru). Video footage shows Emiru interacting with fans before the individual reached toward her neck in an apparent attempt to kiss her. Event security pushed the attendee away and subsequently removed him from the venue.
| Location: Los Angeles, CA | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
October 20, 2025: Supermodel Cindy Crawford and her daughter, model Kaia Gerber, obtained a temporary restraining order against an alleged stalker following escalating threats and unauthorized surveillance. Authorities reported the suspect began contacting the victims via social media in early September 2025, later sending death threats and claiming to be near their Los Angeles and Malibu residences. Crawford reported multiple uninvited appearances at her L.A. home, prompting LAPD intervention and issuance of the order by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. The order mandates a 100-yard buffer zone and prohibits all communication; violations could result in felony charges.
| Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 22, 2025: Malaysian authorities reclassified an investigation into the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh Yu-hsin as a murder case. The woman was found dead in a Kuala Lumpur hotel bathtub and was originally classified as a “sudden death.” However, authorities are seeking the assistance of a Malaysian rapper with whom Hsieh was filming a video at the time, as they suspect that he was the last person with her before her death. The rapper, Wee Meng Chee, claimed that he found Hsieh unresponsive in the bathroom at 12:30 PM and attempted to administer CPR on her before contacting emergency services.
Federal Government
| Location: Washington, D.C. | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 5, 2025: D.C. Metropolitan Police arrested a man for possessing a Molotov cocktail while on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle before the Red Mass—a special annual Mass marking the start of the next term of the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the motives for his threats are unclear, the man was banned from the cathedral prior to his arrest and squatted outside the premises in a tent for an unspecified amount of time thereafter. During their response, police discovered suspicious vials of liquid and fireworks in the man’s tent and initiated a bomb squad response.
| Location: Tirana, Albania | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Office |
October 6, 2025: A man shot and killed an Albanian appeals court judge during a court hearing for a trial related to him. The gunman shot and injured two other people at the hearing, but police apprehended him shortly after he fled the scene. An investigation into the gunman’s background and motives is ongoing.
| Location: Taipei, Taiwan | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 6, 2025: Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) apprehended internet celebrity Chen Chih-han after he made a comment about “beheading” Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te during a livestream. The CIB arrested Chen on charges of incitement of criminal activity and threats to public safety. The extremity of Chen’s comments correlates with his increased engagement with fans from mainland China.
| Location: Antwerp, Belgium | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
October 6, 2025: Belgian authorities arrested three men connected to a series of planned drone attacks targeting multiple Belgian politicians—including Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Police located improvised explosives, steel ball bearings, and a 3D printer in a house tied to the men that was close to De Wever’s private residence. Prosecutors have considered the planned attack as an act of terrorism.
| Location: London, UK | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
October 6, 2025: A suspicious man unexpectedly appeared outside the house of Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey multiple times between June and October 2025. Authorities charged the man with stalking and possession of an edged weapon. Investigations are ongoing.
| Location: Cañar, Ecuador | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
October 7, 2025: Indigenous protestors, who continue to protest the national government’s elimination of diesel subsidies, attacked Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa’s motorcade as he travelled to a public event in nearby Cuenca. The protestors fired guns and threw stones at Noboa’s vehicle, but he remained unharmed—as did the rest of the caravan. As covered in our September 2025 EP report, indigenous protestors had previously attacked Noboa’s motorcade.
| Location: Tampa, FL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Home |
October 7, 2025: The FBI arrested a San Diego man for mailing a threat to conservative media personality Benny Johnson’s home. The letter in question referenced the assassination of Charlie Kirk, wishing that Johnson would meet a similar fate. The FBI and Tampa Police Department are investigating the situation further.
| Location: The Hague, Netherlands | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
October 10, 2025: Dutch Representative and leader of the VVD Party, Geert Wilders, was targeted in the same plot that targeted Prime Minister Bart De Wever. The Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Safety (NCTV) notified Wilders of his targeting; in response, Wilders suspended his national election campaign activities while further investigations proceed.
| Location: St. Paul, MN | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 16, 2025: The FBI arrested a man who called for an attack on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi via a TikTok post. The post depicted Bondi with a sniper’s red dot sight over her forehead, accompanied by a caption reading “‘WANTED: Pam Bondi’ / ‘REWARD: 45,000’ / ‘DEAD OR ALIVE’ / ‘(PREFERABLY DEAD).’” The man, an anarchist who regularly engages in political discussions on TikTok, has an extensive criminal history involving stalking and domestic assault convictions in several states over the course of the last decade.
| Location: West Palm Beach, FL | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 19, 2025: A security contingent, led by the U.S. Secret Service, discovered a suspicious hunting stand in a tree outside Palm Beach International Airport. The stand had a direct line of sight on the runway where President Trump was scheduled to arrive on Air Force One the next day. Furthermore, the stand likely sat in the tree for months despite the runway in its line of sight only recently reopening following a year-long construction project. In response, the Secret Service tightened the runway’s security perimeter and President Trump boarded Air Force One via the more secure, lower set of stairs.
| Location: Washington, DC | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Other Restricted Area |
October 21, 2025: A man drove his car into a Secret Service gate in the White House’s barricade. Secret Service officers arrested the man and initiated an investigation, which is ongoing.
| Location: Iraklion, Crete, Greece | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Public Area |
October 25, 2025: Dozens of hooded individuals harassed Greek New Democracy MP and former Minister, Makis Voridis, while he was dining with his family on a private visit. The assailants pelted Voridis with eggs and shouted insults at him, damaging restaurant property in the process. Police escorted Voridis and his family out of the restaurant; it is not certain if any arrests were made, but an investigation is underway. Voridis described the incident as an instance of “far-left violence” on his Facebook page.
| Location: El Paso, IL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 28, 2025: Federal agents arrested a man for threatening to kill President Donald Trump on social media. The FBI first interviewed the man earlier in October after receiving a tip on threats posted on two of his social media accounts in September. During the interview, the man defended his actions as “performance art.” Even after FBI contact, the man continued to post threats against Trump—in an Instagram post, he stated “this is the perfect time to kill the president! The Secret Service is down!” in response to October’s federal government shutdown.
| Location: Gorakhpur, India | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 31, 2025: An unknown phone caller harassed Minister of Parliament and actor, Ravi Kishan, violently threatening him and his family. Kishan filed a police complaint and expressed his distress on social media following the incident.
State Government
| Location: Olympia, WA | Tactic: Harassment | Venue: Office |
October 2, 2025: An intruder broke into the Washington State Capitol and damaged various items in the building before state troopers apprehended him. The man arrived on the site around 10:15 PM and broke into the building by smashing a ground-floor window with a hammer. He then proceeded to set fire to a rug and a flag and knock over statue busts before his eventual arrest. An employee noticed the intrusion in progress and notified law enforcement.
| Location: Montgomery, AL | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Home |
October 3, 2025: In a session of the Alabama Legislative Council, State Representative Chris Pringle revealed that hunters threatened to burn his house down if he ever voted in favor of legislation limiting the use of dogs in deer hunting in 2019. Pringle revealed this incident in response to a vote on the restriction of hunting dog usage in and around the Talladega National Forest, indicating that he would not vote on the matter due to prior intimidation.
| Location: Rocky Hill, CT | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 18, 2025: Police arrested a man for making violent threats towards Connecticut State Senator Matthew Lesser dating back to 2022. The threats were directed to Lesser’s Facebook page; one of these threats alluded to the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, PA. Although the man’s threats to Lesser occurred from 2022 onward, he has a history of negative fixation over various Jewish politicians and community figures dating back to 2002.
| Location: Clinton, NY | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 19, 2025: Police arrested a man who threatened to kill U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ahead of an upcoming speech via text messages. The suspect participated in the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol and was recently pardoned from a 21-month prison sentence along with others.
| Location: Lakewood, WA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 24, 2025: A man posted indirect death threats targeting Washington Governor Bob Ferguson on social media. One of the threatening posts included pictures of the front door of Ferguson’s private residence; another included an image of an AR-15 with a caption referring to Ferguson’s security detail. The suspect’s threats towards Ferguson started in early 2024, during the Governor’s electoral campaign. Initially, the suspect heeded warnings from law enforcement, but resumed his threatening social media behavior in late 2024. Police arrested the man on a warrant to avoid a potential violent reaction to a court summons.
Local Government
| Location: Oakland, CA | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
September 7–21, 2025: A man emailed racially-charged threats of violence to Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee between September 7–21. Lee’s staff discovered the emails on September 22 and promptly reported them to authorities, who arrested the man on charges of threatening a public official and hate crime.
| Location: Herdecke, Germany | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 7, 2025: Herdecke Mayor-Elect Iris Stalzer was stabbed thirteen times by her teenage daughter. After the daughter and her younger brother reported the crime to authorities, emergency services rushed Stalzer to the hospital. The ongoing investigation revealed that Stalzer’s daughter restrained and tortured Stalzer in her basement hours before the attack, even attempting to set her on fire at one point. Stalzer’s daughter shared a long-standing conflict with her mother prior to this incident. Police arrested both of Stalzer’s children and placed them in child protective services; Stalzer herself remains hospitalized in critical condition.
| Location: Kearny, NJ | Tactic: Other Crime | Venue: Home |
October 17, 2025: Two men broke into the house of former Kearny Mayor and Councilman Ken Lindenfelser Sr. and stole his car. The suspects retrieved the key to Lindenfelser’s car via his bedroom dresser while he was asleep. Police were able to track the car via its Internet-connected GPS system. In the ensuing pursuit through Newark, the suspects totaled Lindenfelser’s car and attempted to flee on foot but were eventually apprehended by police.
| Location: Rotterdam, NY | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Office |
October 22, 2025: A woman threatened to shoot Schenectady County Legislator Josh Cuomo while he was canvassing for his re-election campaign with his children. The woman allegedly threatened Cuomo after he acknowledged his support for President Donald Trump. Police arrested the woman, and Cuomo is currently seeking a restraining order against her.
| Location: Portland, OR | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 26, 2025: Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos’ car caught fire in her driveway in a potential act of arson. Per Portland police, the cause of the fire is still unknown, but the incident is “considered suspicious in nature.”
Community Leader
| Location: Bergenfield, NJ | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 5, 2025: A man assaulted Rabbi Avraham Wein while he was outside of his home. Police arrested the assailant and charged him with assault; his charges did not include hate crime since investigations did not reveal any motives of racial, religious, or ethnic identity. Wein sustained minor injuries.
| Location: Bogota, Colombia | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
October 13, 2025: Gunmen shot Venezuelan human rights activist Yendri Velasquez and political consultant Luis Peche as they left a building. Velasquez and Peche, both residing in Colombia since September 2024, were opponents of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. Colombian national police deemed Velasquez and Peche “stable” after the incident. An investigation into the shooters is ongoing.
| Location: Mexico City, Mexico | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Public Area |
October 14, 2025: A gunman shot and killed lawyer David Cohen Sacal outside of the City Judicial court complex. The assailant, a hitman, was allegedly paid to kill Cohen without having prior knowledge of his background. A homicide investigation is in progress. Cohen was a defense attorney for numerous Mexican celebrities.
| Location: Rome, Italy | Tactic: Attack | Venue: Home |
October 17, 2025: A bomb detonated near investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci’s car shortly after he returned home for the night. No one was injured, but the explosion damaged nearby vehicles and residences. Ranucci, a prominent reporter on organized crime and government corruption, was likely targeted by members of the Mafia—another instance of attacks against him due to his journalistic work.
| Location: Biarritz, France | Tactic: Stalking | Venue: Home |
October 17, 2025: Four men were arrested by French police for plotting to kill Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin. The men were reportedly “on holiday” while they were collecting video footage and imagery of Osechkin’s home. Osechkin was targeted by a similar assassination attempt in 2022 following a series of death threats.
| Location: Spring, TX | Tactic: Verbal/Written Threat | Venue: Communication Channels |
October 20, 2025: Police arrested a man who issued death threats against various Florida Jewish conservative media personalities—including Laura Loomer, Josh Hammer, and Seth Dillon. The suspect posted his threats on X throughout October; police were able to trace the suspect to Texas via data provided by various cell service providers.