The Justice Department revealed on Monday that Jason Alday, a 39-year-old man from Florida, has been arrested and charged with making threats against President Joe Biden and other federal officials. Alday allegedly made initial threats while he was a patient at a mental health facility in Tallahassee, Florida, on June 25. After his release from another hospital, he continued to make threats through social media posts in late June and July. He is now facing charges related to these alleged threats.
CBS reports that he was ordered detained pending trial, according to the Justice Department.
Court filings state that the Secret Service received a call from an intake coordinator at the mental health facility about Alday, who told an agent that during the intake process, he stated, “I don’t like President Biden. I want to kill him, slit his throat.”
The coordinator said Alday had been transported to another hospital in Tallahassee for medical attention that was not related to mental health concerns, according to an affidavit filed with the federal district court in North Florida.
A Secret Service agent, accompanied by deputies with the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, interviewed Alday on July 1 at his parents’ house.
Alday said he couldn’t recall making statements about Mr. Biden when he was at the mental health facility, according to the court filing.
He also denied making the threatening remark about the president but acknowledged that he did not like Mr. Biden, the affidavit from a Secret Service agent stated.
Meanwhile, on July 11, the Secret Service found several posts by an unidentified user to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, targeting Mr. Biden, the court filing states. One post from July 11 read, “I’ll kill joe biden today!!” and another, shared on June 30, stated, “sources: Joe biden’s health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?”
Three other social media posts from July called the Secret Service agent who interviewed Alday a racial slur and threatened him, according to the affidavit. The Secret Service identified the account as one that was affiliated with Alday.
He was charged with three counts: making threats against the president, sending a threatening communication and making threats against a federal official.
Alday was arrested two days following an attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump sustained minor injuries from a grazing bullet to his ear, resulting in the death of one spectator and injuries to two others.
Secret Service agents quickly escorted Trump off the stage when gunfire erupted. The gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was swiftly neutralized by a Secret Service sniper.
Saharareporters
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