The FBI arrested a Wichita Falls man who allegedly posted a message on Facebook encouraging people to shoot public officials “on sight” and “use live rounds,” prosecutors announced Thursday.
Gavin Weslee Blake Perry, 27, was charged with transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.
“If youre [sic] a dem or apart of the establishment in the democrats [sic] side I view you as a criminal and a terrorist and I advise everyone to Go SOS (shoot on sight) and use live rounds … This is a revolution,” Perry posted on Facebook, according to a criminal complaint.
“Nancy Pelosi is apart of a satanic cult and so are the people who work closly [sic] with her,” he continued. “Dems of the establishment will be removed at any cost necessary and yes that means by death,” the complaint said.
Prosecutors said the comments were posted March 23 as lawmakers were considering a financial rescue package to deal with the coronavirus and its economic impact but the complaint did not specifically mention the virus.
“The Department of Justice takes the security of our public servants seriously,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of Dallas said in a prepared statement. “Americans are entitled to voice their opinions but we will not allow them to threaten our officials’ physical safety.”
The FBI and the Wichita Falls police department investigated the case after a concerned citizen notified them, Nealy Cox said.
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Perry has been arrested in Wichita Falls six times since 2009 for crimes including assault, contempt of court and public intoxication, according to online records.
