Florida man arrested after threatening to kill Joe Biden

A Florida man was arrested on Monday and charged with making threats against President Biden and other federal officials, the Justice Department announced.

An affidavit in the Northern District of Florida details that Jason Alday, 39, allegedly made threats against Biden on June 25 from a mental health facility in Tallahassee, Florida. Alday continued to make threatening social media posts in late June and July after being released from another hospital. The Justice Department stated that Alday has been detained pending trial.

According to court filings, the Secret Service received a call from an intake coordinator at the mental health facility about Alday. During the intake process, Alday reportedly said, "I don't like President Biden. I want to kill him, slit his throat." The coordinator noted that Alday was transported to another hospital for unrelated medical attention.

On July 1, a Secret Service agent and Gadsden County Sheriff's deputies interviewed Alday at his parents' house. Alday claimed he could not recall making the threats and denied the specific remark about killing the president but admitted he did not like Biden.

The Secret Service discovered several threatening posts from an unidentified user on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. One post from July 11 read, "I'll kill joe biden today!!" Another post from June 30 said, "sources: Joe biden's health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?" Additional posts from July included racial slurs and threats against the Secret Service agent who interviewed Alday. The account was linked to Alday.

Alday faces three charges: making threats against the president, sending a threatening communication, and making threats against a federal official.

His arrest came two days after an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was injured, one spectator was killed, and two others were injured. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.

The Secret Service faces scrutiny over how the shooter accessed a rooftop near Trump. Several congressional committees and the Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog are investigating, and President Biden has ordered an independent review of security at Trump's rally. The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, is facing calls to resign following the attack.