LAKE COUNTY, Fla – An Ocala man was arrested Thursday afternoon after allegedly threatening to bring a gun to the Lake County Courthouse and “shoot this place up” while court was in session and the building remained open to the public, according to an arrest affidavit.
The incident occurred Nov. 5 at the courthouse, where a Lake County sheriff’s deputy was assigned to security duty.
The deputy wrote in the affidavit that a person approached him at about 1:15 p.m. and reported that a man wearing a black shirt with red or orange lettering across the chest had made threatening remarks.
Witnesses told investigators that the man walked toward a courtroom while talking on the phone and said, “These guys think that they can intimidate me with their badges and guns. They need to stop trying me, I got a gun and badge, I will shoot this place up.”
Both witnesses submitted written statements, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said the man had been at the courthouse earlier that day for a hearing related to a traffic citation.
The affidavit states that he disrupted court proceedings that morning, was escorted from the courtroom and was later told to leave the courthouse following a verbal disturbance.
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Investigators said the man returned at about 1:10 p.m. and acted aggressively toward law enforcement before walking toward a courtroom and allegedly making the threats.
At the time, the courthouse was open and occupied by law enforcement officers, court clerks, judges and members of the public, the affidavit states.
The man was arrested at 1:40 p.m. and charged with threatening death or bodily harm to a clerk or court personnel.
He was booked into the Lake County jail, where he remains held on $5,000 bond.
The case will continue through the court system.
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