CBS News
Florida man arrested after making death threats against Biden
Washington — A Florida man was arrested Monday and charged with making threats against President Biden and other federal officials, according to the Justice Department.
Jason Alday, 39, allegedly made threats against Mr. Biden on June 25 from a mental health facility in Tallahassee, Florida, and in a series of social media posts in late June and July, after he was released from a different hospital. He was ordered detained pending trial, according to the Justice Department.
Court filings state that the Secret Service received a call from an intake coordinator at the mental health facility about Alday, who told an agent that during the intake process, he stated, “I don’t like President Biden. I want to kill him, slit his throat.”
The coordinator said Alday had been transported to another hospital in Tallahassee for medical attention that was not related to mental health concerns, according to an affidavit filed with the federal district court in North Florida.
A Secret Service agent, accompanied by deputies with the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, interviewed Alday on July 1 at his parents house. He said he couldn’t recall making statements about Mr. Biden when he was at the mental health facility, according to the court filing. He also denied making the threatening remark about the president but acknowledged that he did not like Mr. Biden, the affidavit from a Secret Service agent stated.
On July 11, the Secret Service found several posts by an unidentified user to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, targeting Mr. Biden, the court filing states. One post from July 11 read, “I’ll kill joe biden today!!” and another, shared on June 30, stated, “sources: Joe biden’s health is declining rapidly. Not doing too good at all. Should I finish him off?”
Three other social media posts from July called the Secret Service agent who interviewed Alday a racial slur and threatened him, according to the affidavit. The Secret Service identified the account as one that was affiliated with Alday.
He was charged with three counts: making threats against the president, sending a threatening communication and making threats against a federal official.
Alday’s arrest came two days after an attempted assassination against former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was injured when a bullet grazed his ear. One spectator was killed and two others were injured.
Secret Service agents swiftly whisked Trump off the stage after the bullets rang out and the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
But the agency has come under significant scrutiny amid questions about how the shooter was able to gain access to a rooftop so close to where Trump was speaking. Several congressional committees, as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog, have launched investigations into the assassination attempt, and President Biden ordered an independent review of security at Trump’s rally.
The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, is also facing calls to resign in the wake of the attack.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A Georgia county’s emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people and wounded nine others, records released Friday by Barrow County show.
Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.
Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with an automated message saying there was a “high call volume,” WAGA-TV reported.
One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.
Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.
“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,'” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”
Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.
“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?” one caller asked.
“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now,” the operator responded. “We have a lot of calls coming in.”
More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.
“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”
The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Thursday that the suspect rode the school bus on the day of the shooting with the assault-style rifle concealed in his backpack.
He then asked a teacher for permission to go to the front office to speak with someone, and when he received it, he was allowed to take his backpack with him, GBI said. He then went to a restroom, where he hid, and then eventually took out the weapon and started shooting, investigators said. A knife was also found on him when he was arrested.
According to investigators, the suspect enrolled at Apalachee High on Aug. 14, and between Aug. 14 and the day of the shooting, he was absent for nine days of school.
The family told CBS News that the suspect’s maternal grandmother had visited the school the day before the massacre to discuss the suspect’s alleged behavioral issues.
The suspect has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.
The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
