LONG ARM OF THE LAW

Third Suspect Arrested for Threats Against Anti-Hate Florida Sheriff

You’ll never guess where this one lives.

A Florida sheriff who has taken a hard line against antisemitic extremism in his county announced Thursday that authorities have arrested a third person for making online threats against him.

And just like the first two men arrested, this one also is living with his mother.

Cristhian Zapata, 23, allegedly posted the message “I WILL KILL CHITWOOD, MARK MY WORDS” on 4Chan on April 7—referring to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Investigators traced the post to a home in Ansonia, Connecticut, where Zapata had been living with his sister, her husband, and their child at the time of the threat.

“Zapata’s sister told Ansonia police detectives her brother was always on his computer, often participating in extremist chat rooms and ‘talking to unknown people about conspiracy theories and white supremacist ideology,’” the sheriff’s office said.

“The sister also indicated her brother was fascinated with Adolf Hitler.”

When police went to question Zapata, he had moved with his sister and her family to their mother’s home in Shelton, Connecticut. He allegedly confessed to making the post, identified himself as a nationalist, and cited the First Amendment as a defense.

Zapata was arrested Wednesday evening on a felony warrant for making a written threat to kill and now faces extradition to Florida—where Chitwood likes to meet accused extremists at the airport.

Before Zapata’s arrest, police busted two other men, Richard Golden of New Jersey and Tyler Meyer of San Diego, on charges of making threats on 4Chan.

Chitwood became a target of antisemites and white supremacists after he began speaking out forcefully against an extremist group called the Goyim Defense League that has been making racist and anti-Jewish spectacles in Volusia County.

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Tracy Connor

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