Man charged with making terroristic threats in relation to Ahmaud Arbery protests
In this Friday, May 8 file photo, people hold a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man in Brunswick Ga. Georgia's attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Arbery, who authorities say died at the hands of two white men as he jogged through a neighborhood.(John Bazemore/AP)
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has levied terrorism charges against a man who allegedly made a threat in a Facebook post against future protests related to the case of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man who was shot by two white men while jogging.
Rashawn Smith, 20, was arrested Sunday and charged with dissemination of information relating to terroristic acts, the GBI said in a statement.
Smith created a Facebook User ID of an unwitting individual to post a hoax threat. twitter.com/gbi_ga/status/…
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Taken into custody in Midway, Georgia, he’ll be held at the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI said.
The incident stemmed from a Facebook post “that contained a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery,” the GBI said.
The FBI and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation, the GBI said.
“This is an ongoing and active investigation,” the GBI said, urging anyone with relevant information to contact the bureau.
The threat was not specified.
Just two days earlier, hundreds of people had gathered in front of the Glynn County courthouse to demand justice in the slaying of Arbery, who was gunned down by Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, while out jogging, reported First Coast News out of Jacksonville, Florida.
“It’s a cowardly move,” protest organizer Travis Riddle told First Coast News. “We’re not going to take it lightly by any means, but we’re also not going to let it stop us from getting the message across that we want justice for Ahmaud. We want justice for Brunswick, as well as the whole United States. Enough is enough.”
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