Eloy Garcia, 64, was arrested on a charge of threatening communications or threats of a mass shooting, a second-degree felony.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, a Dunedin resident is now facing a felony charge due to threats made on social media about driving into protesters.
Authorities allege that Eloy Garcia, 64, posted on Facebook the day before nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests were to take place, including in Florida, expressing his desire to run over demonstrators.
The arrest affidavit reveals Garcia’s online statement: “I’m spending so much money on gas, just driving around hoping to encounter protesting blockades or people with signs saying ‘don’t deport our illegals’ so I can simply run them over.”
The sheriff’s office said someone reported Garcia’s post and was concerned he would carry out what he threatened on social media at demonstrations scheduled for Saturday.
“I carry a couple of bricks and Molotov cocktails so I can put in their hands like a throw down weapon lol,” the post continued.
During an interview with investigators, the sheriff’s office said Garcia admitted to writing and posting the threats on his social media account.
He was arrested on a charge of threatening communications or threats of a mass shooting, a second-degree felony. Garcia was granted no bond, according to his arrest affidavit.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday, protesting President Donald Trump, specifically his policies targeting illegal immigration and what some call “authoritarian or tyrannical-like” actions by his administration.
In Jacksonville, a man was arrested and charged with sending written threats to conduct an act of terrorism after he was accused of posting on social media, threatening to run over those protesting the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week that drivers who feel threatened by protesters are allowed to defend themselves, even if that means running protesters over.
Additionally, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued warnings to those who employ violence at protests across the state.
“If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at, because we will kill you. Graveyard, dead. We’re not going to play, this has got to stop,” Ivey said at a press conference Thursday.
Protests were largely peaceful in Tampa and Jacksonville, with no reported arrests during the ‘No Kings’ protests in either city.
