The Secret Service is investigating after a Florida man was arrested in West Palm Beach and charged with calling for the assassination of the president Donald Trump On Facebook.
Shannon Debararo Atkins, 46, of West Palm Beach, was arrested after she allegedly threatened the president's life. West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo confirmed during a press conference on Saturday.
Atkins is charged with felony intimidation, drug possession and trafficking contraband at a county detention facility, according to jail records.
Shannon Debararo Atkins, 46, was arrested after she allegedly threatened the life of President Donald Trump. (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office)
Tip was called to FBI National Threat Operations Center Late Sunday, Atkins was reportedly making violent threats against the president on Facebook.
A Palm Beach detective began working on the case Monday and found the posts “disturbing,” according to Araujo.
Some of the posts were: “Lincoln, John Kennedy, Reagan, Martin Luther King And Trump – unfortunately, one of them is still alive”; “Bullet please. “Jesus, save America”; “I was banned from X because I said ‘I hope and pray someone kills him.’ We haven’t had an assassination in years.”
President Donald Trump talks about the economy during an event at Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The department obtained probable cause, began surveillance, and arrested Atkins near one of his homes at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Officers found three bags of cocaine in Atkins' pocket at the time of the arrest, according to Araujo.
During the interview, he admitted to writing facebook posts, He said he was joking, authorities said.
Republican presidential nominee former President Trump is carried off the stage after being shot during a rally, on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“People, this is not a joke,” Araujo said during the press conference. “Nothing of this kind is a joke.”
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The Secret Service has been notified and is reviewing the case to determine whether federal charges are forthcoming, the department said.
“The U.S. Secret Service does not comment on matters related to protective intelligence,” the agency wrote in an email to Fox News Digital on Saturday. “What we can say is that the Secret Service investigates all threats against the people we protect.”
Authorities confirmed that the FBI was also involved in the investigation.
In today's climate, people can't make threats, even as a joke, Araujo said.
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“We have incident after incident, example after example, when these threats become real, and we take them very seriously,” he said. “Did we avoid something – you never know. I know we established probable cause, we arrested Mr. Atkins, and he will have to answer to the charges.”
Atkins was issued $5,000 bail on the drug charges, but bail was denied due to threats against Trump, according to jail records.
