HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A Hillsborough County man is behind bars after he made online threats to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters, the sheriff's office says.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the Polk County Sheriff's Office told them 30-year-old Alex Bancroft wrote a Facebook post Friday threatening to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters. Authorities say that after people commented on the post saying he wouldn't actually commit violence, Bancroft reportedly replied, "keep your eyes on Fla news."
HCSO deputies later discovered another "violent" post on Bancroft's Facebook. During interviews with Bancroft, he admitted to creating the posts on his Facebook. He then told deputies he made the posts out of frustration and wouldn't actually hurt anyone.
Deputies got a warrant and went to arrest Bancroft at his home in Dover, but he had left to visit a friend in Clermont.
Around 11 p.m. July 25, Bancroft was arrested on a felony charge of Written Threat to Kill or Do Bodily Injury in Orlando by Orange County Sheriff's deputies. He is currently being held in the Orange County Jail while he waits to be transferred to Hillsborough County.
"The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office takes all threats to injure or kill others very seriously, and this includes threats made online on various social media platforms," said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
"HCSO's mission to serve, protect and defend the citizens of Hillsborough County extends beyond the streets we patrol every day. If you think you can hide behind a computer screen when threatening to hurt another person, you are absolutely wrong. I want to thank our law enforcement partners, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Orange County Sheriff's Office, for their assistance throughout the course of this investigation."
