A 38-year-old New Jersey man who still lives with his mother was arrested in his pajamas this week and charged with threatening to kill a Florida sheriff who recently took a forceful stand against anti-Semitism and other hateful messages.
“I can’t wait to meet him when I get off the plane,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a Liberal-news conference Tuesday announcing the arrest of Richard Golden of Monmouth Junction.
“Because one of the first faces you’ll see welcoming Volusia County and the Volusia County Jail, the happiest place on earth, will be me.”
After Chitwood spoke out about a neo-Nazi group attacking his community, allegedly even blacklisting him, Golden joined a chat about it on 4Chan and repeatedly recommended violence, the sheriff said.
“Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he’s no longer a problem. They need to find a new guy to be the new problem,” Golden reportedly wrote. “But shooting Chitwood in the head solves the immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head, kill him.
The Central Florida Intelligence Exchange flagged the anonymous comments online and launched an investigation that identified Golden as the alleged perpetrator.
“They found out that he is anti-government, he is anti-law enforcement, and like every other active shooter we come across, he is a marginalized member of society who spends hours and hours and hours in these chat rooms. extremists,” Chitwood said.
He called Golden a “clown” and said he was “just out of core casting”. Chitwood said his only regret was that Golden was not in his underwear when the officers handcuffed him.
The video showed that when New Jersey police knocked on Golden’s door, her mother answered. She then came down in a disheveled state and asked the police if she could get her shoes before they took him away.
His mother led officers into her son’s room and apologized that it was like a “gym locker room.”
“Okay,” said a policeman.
“No, it’s not right,” he said.
Chitwood said Golden, who is unemployed, admitted to police that he made the comments on 4Chan. He will be extradited to Volusia County, where his bond will be set at $100,000, the sheriff said.
The sheriff has said a group calling itself the Goyim Defense League is responsible for a series of hateful incidents, including anti-Semitic leaflets and the declaration of a “national hate day.”
Because he came out and called them cowardly punks, Chitwood has been personally attacked; his parents were beaten and his daughter harassed over the phone.
He said he will not be intimidated and on Tuesday was promoting the sale of “Trash Eradication Team” T-shirts to benefit a youth anti-hate program.