March 20, 2023 A 32-year-old man is accused of targeting Yonkers’ mayor and police force on social media as far back as late 2021, culminating in a threat to “crucify” officers during the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Source officer.com News
New York police apprehended a man accused of threatening to “slaughter” and “crucify” a city’s mayor and police officers during the community’s St. Patrick’s Day parade over the weekend.
Ridon Kola was arrested by Yonkers police on Friday after he allegedly published a series of threats on social media that targeted the city’s mayor and police force, NBC News reports. He was charged with threatening interstate communications and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
According to authorities, Kola, 32, began posting threats as far back as 2021, including a message written in Albanian that was published in November of that year. “I am going to slaughter you little girls,” the post stated.
Then in December 2021, Kola threatened to kill Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. The post also threatened the lives of city police officers.
Police questioned Kola at his home that same month, and he confessed to publishing the posts, which he said he wrote as jokes and hadn’t intended on following through with the threats. A search of his home found no weapons, and police warned officers to be cautious when dealing with Kola in the future.
Jump to earlier this month when police said Kola began issuing threats again. A March 6 threat allegedly written by Kola stated he was ready to “burn the world” until he found a specific police officer.
Three days later, Kola is accused of writing a message that stated he would “crucify” police and officials along the route for Yonkers’ St. Patrick’s Day parade, which ended near his home. Along with the threat, he also posted a photo of himself wielding an ax.
“Threatening violence against police or to undermine public safety will not be tolerated, as Kola now stands charged and faces prison time for his threats against our dedicated law enforcement partners tasked with keeping us safe,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.