An Ithaca man who operates several widely followed “predator alert” Facebook pages is facing felony charges after authorities said he made threats against law enforcement in a social media post.
Muhammad S. Jones, 29, was charged with making a terroristic threat after the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office alleged he posted a message Thursday warning followers to “get prepared,” “stock up,” “train” and “zero in your sights” while claiming law enforcement could not handle “what is coming.” Sheriff Derek Osborne said the post prompted the criminal investigation.
According to authorities, Jones left Tompkins County after the post was published and was later located and arrested in Warren County. A video shared on the New York State Predator Alert 2.0 Facebook page showed Jones being taken into custody, where he denied making any terroristic threats and argued his comments were protected speech.
Investigators also pointed to a voice message allegedly sent by Jones to Ithaca Police Chief Thomas Kelly in which he called the chief a demon and said he was “going to prison,” while stating he was not threatening his life.
Jones also faces a misdemeanor aggravated harassment charge stemming from an unrelated domestic incident involving unwanted communication with a family member, according to the sheriff’s office.
After being transported to the Tompkins County Jail, he was arraigned Friday and ordered held on $100,000 cash bail or a $200,000 bond.
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