Man accused of threatening Pinellas commissioner in Facebook post over mosque vote: 'Off with his head!'
Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
WEST LEALMAN, Fla. - A man was arrested after Pinellas County deputies say he posted a Facebook comment calling for Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott to lose his head following Scott’s vote approving a mosque expansion.
Facebook threat sparks arrest
The backstory:
Rodolfo Mienert, 68, was arrested Monday, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
PCSO says detectives began investigating after receiving a report about a threatening comment posted Sunday on a local media outlet's Facebook page.
The original post criticized Scott's vote approving the mosque expansion. In response, a user commented: "But Scott's WAS, and he's a Republican' turncoat,...off with his head!"
Commission meeting and motive
Dig deeper:
Through their investigation, detectives linked the IP address associated with the account to Mienert, the sheriff's office said.
Detectives contacted Mienert at his home, where he confirmed the account belonged to him.
Mienert told investigators he had attended a recent Board of County Commissioners meeting where a woman wearing full Islamic attire appeared and was escorted out of the meeting.
He described himself as "very vocal and not afraid to share his opinion," particularly about political issues. Mienert said he called Scott a "turncoat" because the commissioner identifies as a Republican but voted in favor of the mosque expansion, according to investigators.
Mienert was arrested and taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
Sheriff responds to threat
What they're saying:
"Threatening to cut off the head of a county commissioner because of his vote on a land issue is intolerable, and we will strictly enforce the law against anyone who makes threats of this nature," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.
According to the sheriff's office, Mienert previously served as a sergeant with the New York City Police Department before retiring after 22 years.
Anyone with information about threats can contact PCSO at 727-582-6200 or submit information through FortifyFL.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, as well as statements from Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.