Florida Deputy Charged for Making Written Threats Against Federal Officers After Capitol Riot

Apparently, cops are only cool with other cops using deadly force as long as the victim is Black. A deputy in Florida is facing charges after writing that he wanted to kill federal officers following the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt during the Capitol riot.

Deputy Peter Heneen, 29, has been charged with making written threats to kill, conduct a mass shooting, or an act of terrorism, ABC News reports. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the charges during a news conference on Tuesday. Heneen worked in the sheriff’s office for the last six years and is currently suspended pending termination.

“I am angry beyond words,” Judd told reporters. “Having him arrested was important. Having him arrested before Inauguration Day was even more important.”

On Jan. 6, as insurrectionists entered the Capitol with the hope of overturning President Joe Biden’s electoral college win, Heneen was sending a series of increasingly angry and violent texts to a fellow deputy on Facebook messenger. He was particularly angered by the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was killed while storming the House Speaker’s Lobby.

According to WESH-2, screenshots of the messages reveal Heneen wrote things such as “fuck the feds,” “Shoot the feds,” “I’ll fucking kill them all,” “take the fight to them,” and “Need to have the streets of D.C. red run with the blood of the tyrants.”

Shooting an unarmed Black man several times in the back? That’s fine. Shooting a white woman in a violent mob that’s trying to overthrow democracy? Dammit, that’s where we got to draw the line.

Judd revealed that the officer on the other end of the exchange was the one who turned Heneen in on Jan. 8. “The good news is, one of our deputies did the right thing,” Judd told reporters. “Gave information of a written threat by one of his colleagues.”

Judd ended the conference by issuing a warning to anyone who left Jan. 6 feeling the same way as Heneen. “You issue a written threat, you’re gonna get locked up too,” Judd said. “No matter who you are.”

While the investigation is still ongoing, Heenen does not appear to have a connection to any outside hate groups or militias.