A 38-year-old New Jersey man is in custody after investigators said he threatened to kill the Volusia County sheriff in Florida.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Richard Golden made the threat on an online forum after the sheriff hosted a news conference to address antisemitic material that surfaced around the county.
“Here’s a clown who is sitting in his bedroom who is indoctrinated by this bull (expletive) and thinks the best way to solve this problem is to put a bullet in my head,” Chitwood said in a news conference Tuesday.
Chitwood said the investigation into Golden, who was arrested in New Jersey, involves the FBI.
Investigators said they are scrubbing through Golden’s computer and phone to decide if additional charges should be filed.
Deputies said Golden’s full statement was first flagged by the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange, and from there it was picked up by the state attorney’s office with subpoenas and search warrants obtained eventually leading to Golden taken into custody.
The online comment comes after a February news conference where Chitwood addressed antisemitic material that appeared during and after the Daytona 500.
Read: ‘Racist cowards’: Volusia Sheriff vows to fight against white supremacist spreading hate.
Chitwood said the group responsible for that material goes by “the Goyium Defense League,” which Golden said he isn’t part of.
Regardless, Chitwood said no online comment of this nature can be overlooked.
“Like every active shooter that we come across, he’s a marginalized member of society who spends hours and hours and hours in these extremist chat rooms,” Chitwood said.
Golden is set to be transferred to the Volusia County Branch Jail where his bond will be set at $100,000.
