BULLETIN: The U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Georgia say a South Carolina man threatened on Facebook to kill the President of the United States.
Patrick Randell McIntosh, 28, of Charleston, was indicted on charges of possessing three firearms and ammunition while under indictment for a felony and for threatening the life of the President.
“Threats against the president of the United States and others we are statutorily authorized to protect are the Secret Service’s number one investigative priority,” said Reginald G. Moore, special agent in charge of the Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “Every threat, no matter if made by telephone, in person, in writing, or on social media is examined to the fullest extent possible.”
The FBI and the Atlanta Police Department assisted in the probe, prosecutors said.
Today’s announcement of the McIntosh indictment marked the second time this week that an individual who allegedly used Facebook to threaten public officials was charged criminally. Lawrence Mulqueen, 49, was charged in New York with threatening to kill local, state and federal officials, including a threat to kill “every Congressional Black Caucus member there is.”
From a statement in the McIntosh case by the office of U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates (italics added):
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court, McIntosh posted on his Facebook page his intention to shoot patrons at a local Atlanta lounge and to kill the president of the United States. After posting the various threats, the defendant purchased three firearms from individuals who advertised weapons for sale.
McIntosh also threatened a woman in the Atlanta area. The woman reported to Gwinnett County authorities that McIntosh was stalking her. She gave police the location of a hotel where McIntosh was staying. Law enforcement officers subsequently arrested McIntosh at the location and recovered guns and ammunition in his possession.
The threat against the President and the acquisition of the weapons occurred after McIntosh had been indicted in South Carolina for felony stalking, prosecutors said.
