'Imma shoot them': Woman arrested for online threats to Florida politicians
Photo by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office
A woman is facing criminal charges for making a threat on social media to shoot Florida’s governor and two U.S. senators, adding that the politicians were “looting” the state.
Karen Jones, 55, was arrested at her South Florida home last Saturday. She is facing three charges of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, according to an arrest report.
All three elected officials are Republicans.
Jones posted on Twitter last week, “DeSantis, Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are looting my state. Imma shoot them,” according to the arrest report.
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During an interview with detectives, Jones said she made the post as a joke.
“When I made the observation that there were no commonly used terminology to show the post was a joke, Jones stated that anyone who follows her knows her sense of humor,” a detective wrote in the arrest report.
Jail records show she was released Sunday. Her public defender did not immediately respond to an email inquiry Tuesday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.