A 46-year-old man was arrested by West Balm Beach, Florida, police said Saturday after he allegedly threatened to assassinate President Donald Trump on social media.
authorities Chief Tony Araujo stated at a press conference on Saturday that authorities were notified on January 19, the day before Trump was sworn in, that a man named Shannon Atkins had posted threats against Trump on Facebook.
Araujo described the threats as “violent rhetoric, political views, and his opinion aimed at the president.”
According to Araujo, Atkins was taken into custody on Friday evening close to his residence in West Palm Beach. He went on to say that three bags of cocaine were purportedly discovered in the suspect’s pocket.
According to a press release from the West Palm Beach Police Department, Araujo is charged with possession of cocaine and one count of written or electronic threats to kill, cause bodily harm, or carry out a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
According to Araujo, the situation has been reported to the Secret Service.
According to a USSS officer, “given the particulars of the investigation and the threat, it was decided to take the case locally with Florida state charges.” They have been collaborating with West Palm Beach Police.
Police say Atkins is being held at the Main Detention Center of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Araujo, Atkins acknowledged writing the Facebook posts during his post-arrest interview, but claimed he was only kidding.
“This is serious business, people. That kind of behavior isn’t a joke,” Araujo stated. It is truly impossible for you to utter such things. We take these threats very seriously, as seen by incident after event and example after example where they materialize.
Araujo encouraged locals to contact the FBI or the police with similar suggestions.