Palm Beach County deputies have arrested a 55-year-old woman who they say made an online threat to shoot Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott for “looting” Florida.
Karen Jones was arrested at her home in Lantana on Saturday over a Twitter post a few days earlier stating “DeSantis, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are looting my state. Imma shoot them,” according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
After having her rights read, Jones admitted to a detective that the Twitter account was hers and that she made the post, according to the sheriff’s office. Jones, who is registered as a Democrat, told the detective it was a “joke,” according to her arrest affidavit.
“When I made the observation that there were no commonly used terminology to show the post was a joke, Jones stated that anyone who follows her knows her sense of humor,” Detective M. Horton wrote in the affidavit.
The tweet is still available on Jones’ public Twitter account. It was made in her retweet of a Washington Post reporter who shared a Miami Herald article about DeSantis pushing an “anti-mob” legislation that would expand Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
Earlier this month, a Miami medical student was arrested over a graphic and violent tweet aimed at U.S. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. His attorney and legal experts say he is protected by the the First Amendment.
A 61-year-old man in Clearwater was also arrested earlier this month after police said he wrote YouTube comments threatening to shoot and kill President Donald Trump and “all Republicans,” including his Trump-supporting neighbor and politicians such as DeSantis, Rubio and Scott. He also said he didn’t mean it.
As for Jones, she was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Saturday with a $15,000 bond. She is being represented by Palm Beach County Assistant Public Defender Alexandra Antonacci, according to court records. Antonacci did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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