OAN Staff Abril Elfi
2:12 PM – Saturday, January 25, 2025
A Florida man has been arrested after allegedly making “violent” threats against President Donald Trump.
On Saturday, the West Palm Beach Police stated that Shannon Depararro Atkins, 46, was arrested after a tip provided to the authorities accused him of threatening to kill the president on social media.
He is currently facing one count of making written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
Atkins is also facing a drug possession charge after detectives found cocaine on him at the time of the arrest.
West Palm Beach Police stated that they began their investigation on January 19th after a tip sent to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center reported a man in Okeechobee, later identified as Atkins, making violent Facebook posts aimed towards Trump.
According to WPEC, authorities stated that Atkins said something along the lines of “Lincoln, JFK, Reagan, Martin Luther King, and Trump. Unfortunately, one is still alive.” Another post by Atkins allegedly stated “Bullets, please. Jesus! Save America” and “I’ve been banned from X because I said I hope and pray someone kills him. We haven’t had an assassination in years.”
The inquiry, which led police to Atkins, was started on January 20 by a detective from the West Palm Beach Police who was attached to the FBI task team. Detectives were keeping an eye on Atkins during the inquiry until his arrest on Friday night.
Atkins was driving a white 2013 BMW 750Li when he was stopped during a traffic stop close to his West Palm Beach residence just before 7:30 p.m. Friday, according to West Palm Beach Police.
Atkins acknowledged creating the posts online during his interrogation with police. He was subsequently brought to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Main Detention Center, where he is being held on the aforementioned counts. The U.S. Secret Service was also informed by detectives, and they will decide if Atkins will be charged with any federal offenses.
Voter registration details show that Atkins voted Democrat since at least 2008.
Atkins’ arrest comes months after Trump survived two assassination attempts, including a shooting during a Butler, Pennsylvania rally in July in which a bullet grazed his ear.
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