CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- Johnathan Trent Thomas appeared in federal court Monday on charges of making threats of violence against federal law enforcement officers.
Thomas was arrested Friday, May 16, and remains in custody pending a detention hearing.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint and the affidavit unsealed in courtThursday, May 14, around noon, a caller, later identified as Thomas, contacted the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and threatened to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and CMPD officers if immigration enforcement actions did not stop.
During a second phone call with a CMPD officer, Thomas allegedly warned that he was coming to Charlotte with armor-piercing ammunition, night vision devices, and body armor to kill law enforcement officers and threatened to “shoot them all” if he observed anyone making arrests.
Thomas allegedly was referencing arrests made previously by ICE federal agents on Albemarle Road in Charlotte.
The affidavit further alleges that Thomas stated that if a police officer pointed a gun at him, he was just going to open fire.
Thomas also allegedly said that he would “Swiss cheese” the officers if they were doing the same thing they did before, meaning making arrests.
Thomas allegedly made additional threats to law enforcement, including that he had Tannerite (an explosive) all around his house if the police came, and referenced April 29, 2024, which is the date that four law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in Charlotte, warning that he “could do a whole lot better than that.”
4 officers killed, 4 wounded in shootout at North Carolina home: policeThe filed affidavit also alleges that Thomas has an extensive history of threatening lawenforcement, to include the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and CMPD, and on previousoccasions had followed CMPD officers in marked patrol cars while they were attempting tofulfill their official duties.
On Friday, HSI agents also executed a search warrant at Thomas’s residence, where they seizedthree rifles and a handgun.
Thomas is charged with threatening to assault or murder federal law enforcement officers, whichcarries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Man charged with threatening to kill federal agents, referencing deadly Charlotte ambush )
Also on site :