As threats against judges, witnesses and public officials draw increasing scrutiny nationwide, authorities have continued to bring criminal cases when those threats intersect with active investigations. In Mississippi, three people have now been charged in connection with threats aimed at a judge, a witness and public offices tied to the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells on the Gulf Coast. The filings add a new layer to a case that was already under intense public attention.
Three defendants were charged in separate threat cases
Three defendants have been charged in separate cases involving threats connected to the Nolan Wells investigation, according to court affidavits and reporting by The Associated Press. The most recent charge was filed July 31 against Edward James Porter of Illinois, who authorities said threatened an unnamed witness and the witness’s family. AP reported that Porter also was accused of threatening another person in Mississippi during a phone call.
According to the affidavit cited by AP, Porter allegedly told one target he would kill them and their family. In a separate call, authorities said he threatened to cut up another person and put them “into a suitcase.” Family attorney Russell Latino told AP that two of the people threatened were relatives of Bart Edminston Jr., a 21-year-old who knew Wells and helped the boat used on July Fourth, and that one of those relatives is a witness in the death investigation.
The other two charged cases date to July 2026. AP reported that Michelle Francine Edwards of Ohio was charged after authorities said she placed bomb threats on July 23 to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. A California man, Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, was charged July 14 after authorities said he sent a threatening Facebook message to a Jackson County Chancery Court judge tied to the case.
The threats are centered in Jackson County and nearby parts of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, where Wells disappeared after a July Fourth boating trip to Horn Island and was found dead on July 6. The AP reported that none of the three defendants appear to know Wells, his family or the boating group, and none appear to be part of the underlying investigation. That distinction matters because it shows the charged conduct came from outside the immediate circle of witnesses and family members.
What is confirmed is that the threats reached people and offices connected to the case. WLOX reported on July 16 that the FBI confirmed it was working to address interstate threats received by people related to the Wells matter, while Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said the bureau was also helping examine digital evidence. WLOX also reported that Ledbetter said investigators had interviewed the three friends who were on the boat with Wells and more than 60 witnesses.
What remains unconfirmed is the full scope of all threats made in the case. Authorities have not publicly released a comprehensive list of every target, and no arrests or suspects have been announced in Wells’ death itself, according to AP. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family found his cause of death to be undetermined pending further investigation, AP reported.
The threats arose as the Wells investigation became a flashpoint online and in public discussion. AP reported that the case drew rampant speculation and unusual scrutiny because of unanswered questions about Wells’ final hours, distrust of law enforcement and Mississippi’s history of racist violence. Wells, who was Black, had traveled with white friends from high school to the uninhabited barrier island before failing to return to the mainland that evening.
Public statements from people connected to the case also underscored the climate around the investigation. AP reported that Judge Ashlee Cole said in a Facebook post that her son last saw Wells around 3 p.m. on July 4 and that she feared for her children’s safety after threats were made. WLOX separately reported that one of Wells’ friends, Tracestin Shepherd, said he and other friends who were with Wells had also received threats.
For residents, the immediate takeaway is that law enforcement is separating the threat prosecutions from the unanswered questions in Wells’ death. The death investigation remains active, with local authorities and the FBI involved in parts of the evidence review, according to WLOX. As of this week, the public record confirms charges in the threats cases, but it does not resolve how Wells died or whether anyone will face charges related to his death.