Complaint: Maryland Man Threatened 'Racial War' Against Hispanics In Florida
MIAMI (WJZ) -- A Clarksburg, Maryland, man is jailed in Seattle after the FBI said he made a series of social media threats against Hispanics in the Miami area.
Court records show 35-year-old Eric Lin had an initial court hearing Monday in Seattle federal court on a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communication. Lin has not yet entered a plea.
An FBI complaint in Miami says Lin sent messages via Facebook between May and August to a Hispanic woman he knows, threatening her and her family, expressing support for Adolf Hitler and calling for the extermination of Spanish-speaking people and other ethnic groups.
The woman showed the FBI printed copies of the messages, totaling more than 150 pages, the complaint said. She told officials she believed the messages came from Lin because his statements in-person at a restaurant where she worked were similar to those made online.
The complaint said the messages made the woman fear for her safety and that of her family members.
Among the messages the woman received, according to the complaint obtained by WJZ and CBS News, are:
"you are worthless than a Rabid Dog... rabid [expletive] like you need to be Put down. With Extreme Ruthlessness!"
"I will let you live so you can slowly watch me destroy your Entire Race, then your family will be targeted for being 'Anti-American' which they are."
"I Thank God everyday President Donald John Trump is President and that he will launch a Racial War and Crusade to keep the [expletive], [expletive], and Muslims and any dangerous non-White or Ethnically or Culturally Foreign group 'In Line'"
The documents say Lin even offered to pay $25,000 to kidnap the victim.
"Federal court documents say Lin is from Clarksburg, Maryland, about 46 miles west of Baltimore, but it did not list an exact address, so it's not clear if he still has ties to this area," A.J. Su said.
The complaint also outlines messages between Lin and another person Lin asked to injure the woman's coworker and/or kidnap her.
"I don't care if I have to Pay you a Million Dollars or More I want this Done!" one message reportedly read.
The FBI says Lin was arrested Friday in Seattle on the federal charges filed in Miami. Lin has a bail hearing next week in Seattle.
After the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, law enforcement believes they've prevented even more potentially devastating attacks.
Police say 20-year-old James Reardon was arrested Friday in Ohio after a social media post showed him firing off a rifle and allegedly plotting to attack people of the Jewish faith.
Newly released body camera video shows police arresting a 15-year-old in Florida who allegedly said in a video game chat room that he would shoot people at school.
Law enforcement officials believe the saying "see something, say something," is working.
"In most of those cases people talk to the person directly, in only half those cases do they call the authority, that's the change we are seeing now, people are stepping forward and trying to get help," John Miller, NYP Counterterriosm Official, said.