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The West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) recently arrested a Florida resident, Shannon Atkins, who issued death threats to Donald Trump.
The authorities announced the arrest of the 46-year-old man on Saturday, January 25, in a press conference. The WPBPD Chief Tony Araujo revealed that the police worked on tips provided to the FBI that led to the arrest of Atkins. Araujo added that the threats were made by the accused through Facebook, which alerted the agency in the first place. Chief Araujo stated:
“I wanna announce the arrest of the suspect in this case. His name is Shannon Atkins. He is a male, 46 years of age, who resides in the city of West Palm Beach.”
In the press conference footage available on YouTube, Araujo gave further insights into the online threats made by Shannon Atkins, saying:
“Some of the posts were… ‘Lincoln, JFK, Reagon, Martin Luther King, and Trump,’ Atkins posted, ‘Unfortunately one is still alive.’ He wrote something to that effect. He also wrote another, saying ‘Bullets. Please Jesus save America.’ Another one he wrote, ‘I have been banned from X because I said I hope and pray someone kills him. We haven't had an assassination in years.’”
The WPBPD Chief said Atkins admitted to making the FB posts, but claiming that the alleged threats were jokes. Araujo added:
“While being interviewed later he admitted writing the Facebook post, but said he was joking. Folks this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke.”
The Police Chief maintained how such online threats are taken with seriousness, whether they were jokes or not. He also briefed about how Shannon Atkins was apprehended on Friday and the future of the case.
WPBPD chief says Shannon Atkins was arrested with c***ine on January 24
As per Chief Araujo’s briefing on Saturday, the FBI received a tip on online threats made by Shannon Atkins on January 19, 2025. The following day, a WPBPD detective started working on the case and found the Facebook posts written by Atkins.
The police authorities then established the probable cause, and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) surveilled the accused. During the investigation, it was also found that Atkins owns two residences in the West Palm Beach area.
On Friday, January 24, 2025, at 7:30 pm, WPBPD arrested Shannon Atkins at a traffic stop near his home. On the Facebook page of West Palm PD, it is revealed that Atkins was driving a white 2013 BMW 750Li when the authorities apprehended him and, at the time of arrest, police reportedly recovered c***ine from the accused.
Ultimately, during the interrogation, Atkins admitted that he made the Facebook posts targeting President Donald Trump. However, the accused also maintained that the posts were written as jokes.
Referencing Atkin’s statement in his press briefing, the WPBPD Chief Tony Araujo said:
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“In today's climate, you really can't say things like this. We have incident after incident, example after example of when these threats become real. And we take these very seriously. I want to tell the general public that they're our partners. Our eyes and ears. We encourage you to report anything suspicious to the FBI, Crime Stoppers, or the free safe watch app we have.”
As the authorities worked on a tip given by an Okeechobee (Florida) resident, Araujo motivated the citizens to keep helping the police. During his briefing, he also revealed that the WPBPD had notified the United States Secret Service regarding the case. The federal agency is reviewing Atkins’ case and will determine the charges soon, Araujo added.
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