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Police in West Balm Beach, Florida, on Saturday announced the arrest of a 46-year-old man who allegedly made threats on social media to kill President Donald Trump.
At a news conference Saturday, Police Chief Tony Araujo said police received a tip on Jan. 19 — the day before Trump was inaugurated — that the man, Shannon Atkins, lodged threats against the Trump on Facebook.
“They were violent rhetoric, political views and his opinion aimed at the president,” Araujo said of the threats.
Atkins was arrested near his West Palm Beach home on Friday night, Araujo said. He added that the suspect was allegedly found with three baggies of cocaine in his pocket.
Araujo faces one count of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism — a second-degree felony — and charges of possession of cocaine, according to a release from the West Palm Beach Police Department.
The Secret Service has been notified of the case, Araujo said.
A USSS official said they have been working 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.”
Atkins is being held at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Main Detention Center, according to police.
While he was being interviewed following the arrest, Araujo said Atkins admitted to writing the Facebook posts, but said he was just joking.
“Folks, this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke,” Araujo said. “You really can’t say things like this. We have incident after incident, example after example of when these threats become real and we take these very seriously. “
Araujo urged residents to report similar tips to police or to the FBI.
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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