Man, 46, arrested over ‘threatening to kill Trump’ after sharing ‘violent’ social media posts against President
A FLORIDA man has been arrested after cops accused him of making “violent” threats against President Donald Trump on social media.
Shannon Atkins, 46, allegedly wrote on Facebook a day before Trump’s inauguration: “America needs one good bullet to be saved.”
Several others disturbing online posts were also uncovered from January 19, according to West Palm Beach police.
Reportedly referencing the Republican, one said: “I’ve been banned from X because I said I hope and pray someone kills him.
“History is supposed to repeat itself. We haven’t had an assassination in years.”
A further concerning post from the same account allegedly belonging to Atkins read: “Bullets please. Please Jesus! Save America”.
The caption was in response to an image of a meme which described inauguration day as a “day of mourning for USA”.
Shortly before his eventual arrest, Atkins also reposted a meme showing Trump with his late first wife Ivanka.
A line above the image read: “I hope they get back together soon.”
West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo said at a news conference: “That gives you a flavor of some of the posts that this gentleman posted.”
He added that the posts showed a “violent rhetoric”.
Atkins was caught and detained on Friday night after a tip off to the FBI threat center, police said in a news release.
He was tracked down at around 7:30pm as officers conducted a traffic stop.
He was in possession of three bags of cocaine at the time of his arrest, officers said.
Along with the drug charge he also faces one count of written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism which is a second-degree felony.
He was being held without bond as of Saturday at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Main Detention Center.
Atkins allegedly admitted he was behind the social media posts but claimed he was “joking”.
Police chief Araujo responded by saying: “Folks, this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke.
“In today’s climate, you really can’t say things like this.
“We have incident after incident, example after example of when these threats become real. And we take these very seriously.”
Atkins is believed to live just a few miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach.
He has voted Democratic since 2008, according to registration records.
The Secret Service are now set to determine whether they pursue additional, federal charges, West Palm Beach police said.
It comes as a second man has also been arrested over alleged threats to Trump’s life.
The FBI said 23-year-old Douglas Thrams from Goshen, Indiana made a series of TikTok videos urging attacks on the government.
In one, Thrams said Trump needed to be killed, according to an FBI agent in a court filing.
He has been charged with using interstate commerce to make threats.
The FBI and Secret Service have been on high alert for months after Trump was the victim of two separate assassination plots in 2024.
One saw the president shot in the ear by shooter Thomas Crooks at a pre-election rally in Pennsylvania.
A second attempt on his life was narrowly avoided when Ryan Routh was seen by a Secret Service agent hiding in the bushes with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
Timeline of attempts on Trump's life
July 13 – Thomas Crooks shot Donald Trump in the ear after hiding on a roof overlooking the former President’s outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crooks was killed by Secret Service snipers after he fired eight shots at Trump and killed one rallygoer and injured two others.
The bullet came less than a quarter of an inch from striking Trump’s head, Ronny Jackson, the former president’s physician, said.
September 15 – Ryan Routh was seen by a Secret Service agent hiding in the bushes with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
Trump was playing a round of golf when the alleged would-be assassin managed to get within 400 yard of him.
Routh fled the scene in an SUV but was caught by cops and arrested.
October 12 – Riverside County Sheriffs believe Vem Miller tried to enter a Trump rally in Coachella, California, with the intention of killing the President.
They stopped him at the perimeter before Trump had even arrived and booked the 49-year-old on two gun charges.
Sheriff Chad Bianco said it would be up to federal officials to investigate Miller for the alleged assassination, but he believed his deputies had stopped a “third assassination attempt”.