Florida Woman Arrested After Threatening To Shoot Ron DeSantis, Two Others On Twitter

A 55-year-old woman was arrested in Palm Beach County on Saturday after making an online threat to shoot Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. The woman, identified as Karen Jones, is a registered Democrat.

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Jones wrote on Saturday a Twitter post accusing Ron DeSantis, Rubio, and Scott of looting Florida. She made the post in her retweet of a Washington Post reporter who shared a Miami Herald article about DeSantis pushing anti-mob legislation that would expand Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

“DeSantis, Rick Scott, and Marco Rubio are looting my state,” she wrote. “Imma shoot them,” she added.

Police said Jones did not deny that the Twitter account was hers and that she was the one who wrote the post. However, she told the detective that her post was a mere joke. “When I made the observation that there were no commonly used terminology to show the post was a joke, Jones stated that anyone who follows her knows her sense of humor,” said Detective M. Horton.

Authorities booked Jones into the Palm Beach County Jail on Saturday on a $15,000 bond. Court records show that she is being represented by Palm Beach County Assistant Public Defender Alexandra Antonacci.

Meanwhile, Karen Jones is not the first to be arrested in Florida over a Twitter post. Earlier this November, a medical student from Miami was also busted after making a controversial Twitter post against a Republican senator. The student made a graphic and violent tweet targeting U.S. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky but the raps were dropped after her attorney and legal experts said she was protected by the First Amendment.

Another man in Clearwater also faced charges earlier this month after threatening to shoot and kill Donald Trump and all Republicans. In his tweet, the 61-year-old man said he would kill Trump and his stern supporters, including DeSantis, Rubio, and Scott. Like Karen Jones, she also claimed he did not meet his tweet.