A Florida whistleblower’s kid, age 13, was detained this week on suspicion of making “terrorist” threats online to shoot up his previous school.
The son of Rebekah Jones, who lost her job for questioning Gov. Ron DeSantis’ COVID numbers early in the pandemic using access to health department data, was detained on Wednesday on suspicion of making “written or electronic threats” of a “mass shooting or terrorist act.”
According to reports, the threats were made starting around February 1 during a string of chats on the social media platforms Discord and Snapchat. They were discovered by law enforcement in March after being discovered by other teenagers.
According to the arrest warrant, the youths displayed photos of memes sent by Jones’ kid on Snapchat, where they said the youngster also made threats to shoot up his former middle school the week before spring break but then claimed he changed his mind.
Sheriff’s deputies spoke with the youngster on March 23 and showed him the memes, which he admitted to distributing, according to the report. The teen’s identity is being withheld to preserve his privacy.
13-year-old son of Rebekah Jones, whistleblower who clashed with DeSantis, arrested over memes https://t.co/gQqCP76k6u
— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 6, 2023
One viral meme shows a brain with obsessive ideas of stealing an officer’s gun while aware that the outcome would be fatal. The boy sent the meme saying, “Every time I see school security,” according to the warrant.
Police claim that he also published a another meme, which was identified in the warrant as a person with a shaved head holding a Hi-C drink. “I’m feeling so silly I might shoot up a building full of people.”
Some of the threatening messages are as follows:
Feb. 9: “I want to shoot up the school.”
Feb. 12: “If I get a gun I’m gonna shoot up hnms lol” — an apparent reference to Holley Navarre Middle School, which the youth had previously attended.
Feb. 12: “I always keep a knife on me so maybe I’ll just stab ppl.”
Feb. 12: “…I have no hope in getting better, so why not kill the losers at school.”
The child was being kept at the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Facility, a 50-bed state-run jail in Pensacola, until his release following a court hearing on Thursday.
