A Florida Panhandle man may be one of the first charged under a new law for posting threatening messages on social media.
Last month, the Bay County Sheriff鈥檚 office arrested 23-year-old Steven Cole for posting threatening messages on Facebook against the North Florida law agency itself.
One post specifically targeted Sheriff Tommy Ford.
It stated, 鈥淵ou better run and hide from my sight Ford, when I cast my eyes upon you, it will be the end of the line for you.鈥�
And, Bay County Sheriff鈥檚 office spokeswoman Ruth Corley says Cole posted that threat on the agency鈥檚 Facebook page.
鈥淥nce we became aware of that, it was assigned to criminal investigations to further investigations on his personal page and there were many threats that we were able to document against law enforcement in general, the CIA director, government workers, and other civilians in Bay County and Panama City,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, it was at that point, we decided that we needed to go and find him.鈥�
On his personal Facebook page, Cole鈥檚 other postings included 鈥渨e have people waiting to ambush the police officers on arrival, please try me,鈥� 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be bigger than Jack the Ripper,鈥� and 鈥済overnment workers along with their bloodlines must be destroyed.鈥�
So, after he admitted to the postings, Cole was arrested and charged with Written Threat to Kill or Injure.
That鈥檚 actually part of a new law that took effect last month authored by Rep. Stan McClain (R-Ocala).
It expands on a 2010 statute that already made it a second degree felony to make a written threat via electronic communication, but that threat still had to be sent directly to the person targeted or a relative.
This new law would change that.
鈥淭he reason for this is technology has outpaced the law at this point鈥nd more importantly, I think our citizens believe that if someone makes a threat on electronic record, it should be treated as a viable threat to them,鈥� said McClain, at the time.
McClain says it鈥檚 also important to give law enforcers the tools they need.
鈥淲ell, I just think it opens up the ability for law enforcement to be able to make some determinations,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he challenge is that if you do an electronic record right now, there鈥檚 nothing for the citizen to fall back on.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Bay County Sheriff鈥檚 office didn鈥檛 stop at charging Cole for posting the written threats via Facebook. They also took advantage of another new law by petitioning a court for what鈥檚 called a 鈥淩isk Protection Order鈥� against him.
That Risk Protection Order鈥� provision is part of the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act," which stemmed from February鈥檚 mass school shooting in Parkland.
Incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva sponsored the bill in the House during this year鈥檚 legislative session.
鈥淚t creates a mechanism called the 鈥楻isk Protection Order鈥� that allows law enforcement to be able to assess a credible threat and to be able to make a petition to a court for an injunction of the weapons if they can submit clear and convincing evidence.鈥�
Still, in the case of Cole, Bay County Sheriff鈥檚 office spokeswoman Ruth Corley is quick to point out, 鈥淲hen we arrested Cole, we didn鈥檛 find any firearms within his residence.鈥�
But, Corley says risk protection orders applies to those law enforcement believes are at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing a firearm. So, that could mean temporarily seizing guns in someone鈥檚 possession OR prohibiting the purchasing of firearms as well.
And, she adds there are other factors to look at as well when obtaining a risk protection order.
鈥淭hreats of violence, the existence or violation of a previous Risk Prevention Order, or evidence the suspect is abusing controlled substances or alcohol, or any evidence they have a mental illness or have a recurring mental health issue,鈥� she continued. 鈥淎ll of these factors must be present in order to get a risk protection order. They can last up to a year, but at that time, they can be vacated or extended by a judge, if again you meet the different factors.鈥�
Corley says a judge did rule in favor of Bay County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and granted the risk protection order against Cole until July 20 of next year.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: .
Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit . 9(MDAyNDY5MjM1MDEyODE2MzMyMTZmZDQwMg001))
