Washington — A Florida man was arrested Monday and charged with making threats against President Biden and other federal officials, according to the Justice Department.
Jason Alday, 39, allegedly made threats against Mr. Biden on June 25 from a mental health facility in Tallahassee, Florida, and in a series of social media posts in late June and July, after he was released from a different hospital. He was ordered detained pending trial, according to the Justice Department.
Court filings state that the Secret Service received a call from an intake coordinator at the mental health facility about Alday, who told an agent that during the intake process, he stated, “I don’t like President Biden. I want to kill him, slit his throat.”
The coordinator said Alday had been transported to another hospital in Tallahassee for medical attention that was not related to mental health concerns, according to an affidavit filed with the federal district court in North Florida.
A Secret Service agent, accompanied by deputies with the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, interviewed Alday on July 1 at his parents house. He said he couldn’t recall making statements about Mr. Biden when he was at the mental health facility, according to the court filing. He also denied making the threatening remark about the president but acknowledged that he did not like Mr. Biden, the affidavit from a Secret Service agent stated.
On July 11, the Secret Service found several posts by an unidentified user to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, targeting Mr. Biden, the court filing states. One post from July 11 read, “I’ll kill joe biden today!!” and another, shared on June 30, stated, “sources: Joe biden’s health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?”
Three other social media posts from July called the Secret Service agent who interviewed Alday a racial slur and threatened him, according to the affidavit. The Secret Service identified the account as one that was affiliated with Alday.
He was charged with three counts: making threats against the president, sending a threatening communication and making threats against a federal official.
Alday’s arrest came two days after an attempted assassination against former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was injured when a bullet grazed his ear. One spectator was killed and two others were injured.
Secret Service agents swiftly whisked Trump off the stage after the bullets rang out and the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
But the agency has come under significant scrutiny amid questions about how the shooter was able to gain access to a rooftop so close to where Trump was speaking. Several congressional committees, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog, have launched investigations into the assassination attempt, and President Biden ordered an independent review of security at Trump’s rally.
The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, is also facing calls to resign in the wake of the attack.