Police in West Balm Beach, Florida, arrested a 46-year-old man on Saturday after he allegedly threatened to kill President Donald Trump on social media.
At a news conference Saturday, Police Chief Tony Araujo said police received a tip on Jan. 19 — the day before Trump’s inauguration — that the man, Shannon Atkins, had made threats against Trump on Facebook.
“They were violent rhetoric, political views, and his opinion aimed at the president,” Araujo stated about the threats.
Araujo reported that Atkins was arrested near his West Palm Beach home on Friday night. He also stated that the suspect was allegedly found with three baggies of cocaine in his pocket.
According to a West Palm Beach Police Department release, Atkins is charged with one count of written or electronic threats to kill, injure, or conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism, a second-degree felony, as well as cocaine possession.
According to Araujo, the Secret Service has been notified about the case.
A Secret Service official stated that the agency has been collaborating with West Palm Beach Police, and “given the particulars of the investigation and the threat, it was decided to take the case locally with Florida state charges.”
According to police, Atkins is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Main Detention Center.
While being interviewed following the arrest, Araujo stated that Atkins admitted to writing the Facebook posts but claimed he was only joking.
“People, this is no joke. Nothing of the sort is a joke,” Araujo explained. “You really shouldn’t say things like this. We have incident after incident, example after example of when these threats become real, and we take them extremely seriously.”
Araujo encouraged residents to report similar tips to police or the FBI.
