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Left: Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks about the tax code and manufacturing at the Johnny Mercer Theatre Civic Center, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci). Right: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Bojangles Coliseum, in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Inset: Franklin Jarrell (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida man has been arrested for threatening former vice president Kamala Harris and Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to law enforcement.
Franklin Jarrell, 59, stands accused of one count each of sending a threatening communication in interstate commerce and making threats against a federal official, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida late last month.
The threats in question were allegedly made on TikTok and reported by the FBI to the Secret Service, the charging document says.
On Feb. 13, information about several violent – but unspecific – threats was shared between the two agencies, according to federal agents.
The complaint catalogues those comments laundry list-style:
•”I got your IP numbers that means I have your address so when I come for you you’ll never see it coming stank booty”‘
• “I’m coming to kill you and you won’t worry about wearing a wranglers no more looking to put you in pajamas look at your teeth you’re as big as a godd––– crocodile you were mine I’m going to blow your”
• “I’m going to blow your brains out you won’t go back home not unless you’re in the box you’ll never see me coming we’re real rednecks not want to be n–––––– or whatever you are we’re going to kill you”
Those threats are not identified as addressed to anyone, according to the complaint. They were allegedly posted by a user account attributed to Jarrell on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, federal agents claim. Upon receipt of those amorphous outbursts, however, the Secret Service allegedly uncovered threatening comments with defined targets.
On Feb. 11, in response to a video “regarding” Harris, the same TikTok user allegedly posted: “[I]f she is a n–––––– she don’t even know what she is she’s one b–––– I will take a sniper rifle and blow her head off like they’re trying to do with Trump f––– her,” according to the complaint.
That same day, the following comments were allegedly posted in response to a video about Omar: “I want to take them glasses off her head and shove them up her a–– come South we will kill your a–– nappy head” and “I can’t stand m–––––––––––– like that and I don’t give a f what anybody thinks bring your a–– down to Jacksonville Florida and we will kill your a–– we don’t play come down south nappy head.”
On Valentine’s Day, local law enforcement connected the TikTok user’s email account to a phone number which appeared to be assigned to the defendant, or someone with a strikingly similar name, the complaint says.
On Feb. 18, a Secret Service agent called the defendant to ask him about his TikTok account an an alleged threat to “blow Kamala Harris’ head off with a sniper rifle.”
Jarrell allegedly confirmed his TikTok account – except for the number at the end of his handle, the complaint says. When the agent brought up Harris, the defendant allegedly called her a “nappy headed n–––––.”
“I recognized this type of verbiage as the same type of rhetoric that the TikTok user posted,” the Secret Service agent wrote.
The conversation allegedly quickly deteriorated from there.
The complaint recounts, at length:
I then asked JARRELL if he would be willing to meet in person for an interview regarding this threat. At this time, JARRELL became verbally aggressive and stated he would “kick my a––,” and if I “came to his home” I “would never leave.” I asked him what he meant by his statement and he said that he had a house “full of guns” and “I would find out.” JARRELL said he could say “whatever he wanted” because of his “First Amendment Right.” I advised JARELL that his right to freedom of speech did not include terroristic threats, and that threating [sic] to kill the former Vice President was a federal crime. JARRELL’s tone became more irate, and he threatened to kick my front teeth in if I came to his house. He again stated he had a house full of weapons and I would never “make it past his fence line” if I showed up. He then terminated the call.
Later that same day, from just before noon until just after 4:45 p.m., the defendant’s number called the federal agent back 25 times, according to the complaint. In sum, 21 voicemails were subsequently left on the agent’s voicemail.
The complaint goes on to cite transcripts from just a handful of those voicemails, according to the Secret Service. The language is increasingly violent, bigoted, and graphic.
“He’s a frog with no ––,” the defendant allegedly raged in one of the voicemails. “That motherf–––––, I would knock his teeth out. Come.”
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Local law enforcement later made contact with the owner of the Jacksonville residence connected to the phone number in question. That man was identified as Franklin Jarrell Sr. Then the elder Jarrell was passed on to the federal investigator.
This turn of events apparently did not help calm matters.
Again, the complaint, at length:
He stated that his son had a drinking problem and hated the former Vice President for reasons he did not understand. I asked Mr. Jarrell if he could speak with his son and attempt to calm him down so I could interview him. Mr. Jarrell stated he would speak with his son and attempt to deescalate the situation. Approximately five minutes later, I received another call from JARRELL. I answered the call, hoping his father had calmed him down. JARRELL began yelling at me, saying if I ever talked to his father again, that he would “kick my teeth in.” He then terminated the call.
The defendant was arrested later on the night of Feb. 18, according to the complaint. He is currently being detained on $100,000 bond.
