Three people charged with threatening judge, witness and officials tied to Nolan Wells investigation

Three individuals have been charged with making threats against a judge, a witness and local officials involved in the investigation surrounding the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found deceased after a July Fourth outing to an island off Mississippi's Gulf Coast. The trio, whose connections to Wells, his family or the boating party are unknown, are not part of the ongoing inquiry.

Speculation and questioning of the investigation intensified due to uncertainty over Wells' final moments, skepticism towards law enforcement and the state's history of racial violence. The 18-year-old, who was Black, along with his high school friends, all of whom were white, did not return to land the evening of the excursion.

His body was discovered two days later adrift off the island's coast. No arrests have been made, and the identities of suspects remain undisclosed. An autopsy commissioned by Wells' family concluded that the cause of death was "undetermined," pending further examination. Attempts to contact the accused via their listed phone numbers and email addresses were unsuccessful.

One of the defendants, Edward James Porter from Illinois, allegedly made threats against a witness and their family via phone calls on July 31, vowing to kill them and dispose of their remains in a suitcase. Porter was arrested on the same day in federal court in Mississippi for the threat, directed at Bart Edminston Jr., a 21-year-old acquaintance of Wells who assisted the group's boat during the July Fourth celebration.

Edminston Jr.'s family has designated one of the threatened individuals as a witness in the investigation into Wells' death.