WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The West Palm Beach Police Department held a news conference Saturday to discuss an arrest tied to a tip that threats were being made on social media against President Donald Trump.
Shannon Atkins, 46, of West Palm Beach, faces charges of written threats to kill or do bodily injury, possession of cocaine and introducing a controlled substance into a county detention facility, according to the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court.
Atkins’ arrest followed a tip made Jan. 19 to the FBI National Threat Operations Center, according to West Palm Beach police Chief Tony Araujo.
At the news conference, Araujo described the posts Atkins allegedly shared as depicting “violent rhetoric, political views, and (Atkins’) opinion aimed at the president.”
“Very early on Jan. 20, our West Palm Beach detective that’s assigned to the FBI task force began working the case and he, too, found the disturbing posts. Some of the posts were Lincoln, JFK, Reagan, Martin Luther King and Trump; Atkins posted, ‘Unfortunately, one is still alive.’ He wrote something to that effect,” Araujo said. “He also wrote another saying, ‘Bullets, please, Jesus, save America.’ Another one he wrote, ‘I’ve been banned from X because I said, I hope and pray someone kills him. We haven’t had an assassination in years.’ That gives you a flavor of some of the posts that this gentleman posted.”
Shannon was arrested Friday night during a traffic stop near one of his two residences in West Palm Beach, Araujo said, adding he was allegedly found in possession of three bags containing suspected cocaine.
After Shannon’s arrest, he told investigators that he was joking, according to Araujo.
“Folks, this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke,” Araujo said. “We notified the Secret Service. They’re looking at this case and they will make a determination if federal charges are going to be in play.”
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.
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