A Springfield man arrested for allegedly threatening former President Donald Trump, Republicans and police officers is being held without bail in the Greene County Jail.
Justin Lee White, 36, was arrested over Labor Day weekend. He has been charged with making a threat to injure or kidnap through interstate communications — in this case, social media platforms TikTok and Facebook.
In the past month, the FBI received a tip that White made a TikTok video apparently directed at Trump and the Republican Party, based on the caption.
Court documents used to charge White said the video depicts him sitting in front of the camera, before saying: "This goes to every Republican out there. You don't start playing fair with them votes, I'll start showing up with a gun, I promise you."
In the video, White allegedly said he was not afraid of violence or killing a police officer.
"So, if you want to play dirty at the votes this year, in 2024, just remember, where I come from, we get physical. So, if you Republicans don’t play fair, there will be guns and violence involved this year.”
On Aug. 22, White allegedly made a series of Facebook posts that included threats and profanity. He called himself a "cold face killer" and included a photograph of a gun, a magazine and ammunition, court documents say.
In the posts, he noted law enforcement officers were seen "parked outside my house" and "messing with vehicles."
A federal warrant was issued Aug. 28 to search White's residence to look for electronics and any evidence related to the threats, court documents show. White was arrested that day and booked into the jail, where he remains.
According to court documents, White was interviewed Aug. 29 and allegedly told the FBI that his hatred of police officers was a result of watching videos of officers acting aggressively on TikTok and YouTube.
He said when he was a teenager living in St. Louis, he got into a shootout with a police officer but "beat" the case because the officer shot at him first.
In the interview, White allegedly said he was a habitual user of marijuana and smoked "six joints a day." He also said he had a 9mm pistol and at least 100 bullets.
According to court documents, White said he made the TikTok video after getting into an argument with an unknown person about politics and made the Facebook posts because he observed a police officer stopping at his residence to look at vehicles.
The Springfield Police Department said White was known to local law enforcement because he had allegedly posted threatening videos on social media in the past.
In May 2023, a previous TikTok video had been flagged by law enforcement. In it, White allegedly said: "Police are no longer safe in public when I see them. I'm going to harass them. I'm going to attack them. I'm going to get in their face ..."
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In the video, White allegedly said he would attempt to take police officers' guns and shoot them with it. He was arrested this weekend without incident.
White is scheduled to appear in front of Magistrate Judge David Rush at 10 a.m. Thursday. If convicted of the class D felony, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield man charged with threatening harm to Donald Trump, Republicans, police
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