West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) Interim Chief Tony Araujo announced at a press conference Saturday afternoon about an arrest made following threats against President Donald Trump.
According to police, a man in Okeechobee gave a tip to the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Threat Operations Center reporting threats against Trump on Jan. 19.
On Jan. 20, WPBPD detectives and the FBI began an investigation and found a series of violent posts on social media created by Shannon Atkins, 46, of West Palm Beach.
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After establishing probable cause, police stopped Atkins near his home at around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. Atkins also had three bags of cocaine on him at the time of his arrest, police said.
Atkins was taken to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Main Detention Center and is facing one count of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism — a second-degree felony. Atkins is also facing a charge of cocaine possession.
The Secret Service will determine if Atkins will face any federal charges.
Araujo said that Atkins expressed during his interview with police that the posts were a joke.
"In today’s climate, you really can't say things like this," Araujo said. "We have incident after incident, example after example of when these threats become real, and we take these very seriously.”
This arrest comes only two days after a Sunny Isles Beach man was arrested for jumping over a wall surrounding Mar-a-Lago. Bijan T. Arceo, 32, was arrested and faces one count of occupying trespassing.
This article was written by Samantha Roesler for Scripps News West Palm Beach.
