HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Hillsborough County man was arrested Saturday after threatening to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters, deputies said.
Officials said the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office received information from the Polk County Sheriff's Office that Alex Bancroft, 30, threatened to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters in a post he made on Facebook on Friday, July 24.
After others commented on his post, Bancroft replied "keep ur eyes on Fla news."
After further investigation, there was another violent Facebook post made by Bancroft. It was a photo of playing cards from the game "Cards Against Humanity." The cards read, "That's right. I killed _____. How you ask? _____." He put the cards that read, "That's right. I killed African children. How you ask? An AR-15 assault rifle."
During an interview with Bancroft, he admitted to creating the posts on his Facebook account. He told deputies that he made posts out of frustration, and wouldn't actually hurt anyone.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Bancroft.
On Saturday at 11 p.m., Bancroft was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office takes all threats to injure or kill others very seriously, and this includes threats made online on various social media platforms," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "HCSO's mission to serve, protect and defend the citizens of Hillsborough County extends beyond the streets we patrol every day. If you think you can hide behind a computer screen when threatening to hurt another person, you are absolutely wrong. I want to thank our law enforcement partners, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Orange County Sheriff's Office, for their assistance throughout the course of this investigation."
Bancroft was arrested and charged for written threat to kill or do bodily injury.
He is currently being held at the Orange County Jail, he is awaiting transfer back to Hillsborough County.
