WEST PALM BEACH — A West Palm Beach man was arrested Friday and charged with one count of electronic threat to kill or do bodily harm to President Donald Trump, after a tip to the FBI led to the discovery of a slew of online Facebook posts, police said.
Shannon Depararro Atkins, 46, was arrested at about 7:30 p.m. Friday during a traffic stop in the 400 block of Pacific Grove Drive, West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo said during a Saturday press conference at police headquarters. Atkins also faces cocaine possession charges. Three bags of white powder, which police confirmed was cocaine, were found during his arrest.
Police said they did not find a weapon during the arrest. When asked by reporters whether Atkins possessed a firearm, Araujo replied the case was still an open investigation.
The arrest came following a Jan. 19 tip from an Okeechobee resident to the FBI National Threat Operation Center about “violent posts” Atkins apparently had written on Facebook.
Those included a post on which Atkins wrote: “Bullets please. Please Jesus! Save America,” responding to a post referring to Monday’s inauguration of President Trump as “the day of Mourning for USA.”
Atkins also wrote a post stating: “I’ve been banned from “X”, because I said I hope and pray someone kills him. We haven’t had an assassination in years,” followed by a string of emojis that included a laughing face, and a shrug. That followed a post in which Atkins insulted Trump and his supporters.
West Palm Beach Police cited post like the one shown as probably cause for Atkins arrest.
Police also pointed to a response Atkins wrote: “Unfortunately one is still alive,” in response to a picture captioned “All stood up to Democrats, all were shot” featuring Trump, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King.
A West Palm Beach detective assigned to the FBI Task Force began investigating Atkins the following day, Araujo said. As the investigation continued, it culminated with detectives following Atkins before they arrested him Friday night. While interviewed by detectives, Atkins admitted to making the post, Araujo said.
“He admitted to writing the Facebook post, but said he was joking,” Araujo said during the press conference. “Folks, this was not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke.”
According to a Linkedin account purporting to belong to Atkins, he is the owner of Big Mama’s House of Sweets, a local bakery.
Police also have notified the U.S. Secret Service to determine whether Atkins faces federal charges, Araujo said. “In today’s climate, you really can’t say things like this,” he said.
Araujo encouraged any West Palm Beach resident to report any potentially threatening posts to the FBI, Crime Stoppers, or to West Palm Beach Police via SaferwatchApp.com, or the Safewatch application itself.
“Let us decide whether the information is actionable. We will determine whether there is reasonableness to further investigate,” Araujo said. “In this instance, there was. Our detectives developed probable cause, and we made an arrest.”
Atkins is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail and faces a felony charge for the cocaine possession and a second-degree felony charge of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
According to police spokesman Mike Jachles, Atkins was also charged with introducing contraband to a detention center, a third-degree felony. Araujo thanked the state attorney’s office, FBI and the Secret Service for their collaboration.
“It takes all of us to keep our community safe and in this instance, this system worked,” Araujo said.
The arrest comes after Trump survived two assassination attempts in the months leading to November’s general election.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: ‘Violent posts’ against Trump leads to arrest for West Palm Beach man
