Man Jailed Over Twitter Threat Toward La Plata Residents
LA PLATA, Md. (WJZ) – A Charles County man is behind bars, charged with threatening mass violence on social media.
Mary Bubala with details on the tweet that landed him in jail.
He claimed the tweet was a joke, but no one in La Plata was brushing it off.
Reaction in Carlos Hollins' neighborhood in Waldorf:
"You have to take everything people say seriously. I feel threatened and I live right next door," one man said.
The 20-year-old posted a threatening comment on Twitter.
The tweet reads: "IM NOT GONNA STAND FOR THIS NO. MORE. TONIGHT WE PURGE! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LAPLATA #BlackLivesMatter."
Later, Hollins posted a profanity-laced video, recorded in the parking lot of the nearby sheriff's station, claiming it was a joke and that he'd turn himself in, which he did not. Instead, he was later arrested.
The sheriff and residents did not view the tweet as a joke.
"It wasn't to us and it wasn't to the citizens of La Plata, many of whom stayed home last night because they were afraid to come out to their shopping areas and be out in parks and things," said Chief Carl Schinner, La Plata Police Department.
La Plata residents echoed the chief's words.
"Some threats, you know, most of them are not real, but that's when, if you don't investigate it, they come back to haunt you and that's when they make headlines," one man said.
Hollins is charged with making a threat of mass violence. Police have asked extra officers to patrol the area.
Hollins is in jail on a $250,000 bond.