FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man accused of trying to slash a Walmart employee with scissors now faces federal charges after allegedly threatening President Donald Trump while he was being arrested.
Federal court records show Mohammed Omar Haji Mohammed is charged with making threats against the president during the July 8 altercation. A Secret Service affidavit says Mohammed tried to slash a Walmart employee during a disagreement at the customer service desk, then yelled threats in Arabic that were recorded on body cameras by police who responded.
The alleged threats, translated into English by the FBI, include: "We are coming for you Trump. We are coming for you with knives. God will send angels to destroy you."
And this: "l need Trump cut. I want to cut, two portions."
The affidavit says Mohammed had made suspicious Facebook posts about doing something that would be newsworthy. Those posts caught the attention of an anonymous tipster who let authorities know two days before the Walmart incident that Mohammed seemed to be poised to take some action and had recently been fired from his job at a local Quickies restaurant.
The tipster, according to the Secret Service, said Mohammad at been "acting strange" and had "become more withdrawn" since losing his job.
One Mohammed Facebook post read: "Whoever knows why I came to America wait for the urgent news on television screens and victory is from Allah."
Federal agents confirmed Mohammed's identity and had translated his Facebook posts. Then he appeared at the Walmart, where he was charged with aggravated assault, battery against a police officer and disorderly conduct. No injuries were reported in that altercation, which included police use of a Taser to subdue him.
It was only after the Secret Service reviewed the Fort Lauderdale Police Department's body camera video of the Walmart confrontation that he was charged last Friday with making the threats against Trump. There is nothing in the affidavit to suggest he was planning any kind of serious attempt against the president.
Mohammed has an initial hearing later this week. Court records do not list an attorney for him. The records do not say where Mohammed is originally from.
The federal charge of threatening the president carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, up to $250,000 in fines and possible deportation for non-citizens.
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