A Hillsborough County man has been arrested after he made online threats to shoot protestors.
Saturday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office received information from the Polk County Sheriff's Office that Alex Bancroft, 30, threatened to shoot Black Lives Matter protestors in a post he made on his Facebook account on July 24, 2020. After others commented on the post, saying he wouldn't actually commit the act of violence, Bancroft replied, "keep ur eyes on Fla news."
Further investigation revealed another violent post on Bancroft's account. This time, it was a photograph of playing cards from the game, "Cards Against Humanity." The prompt read, "That's right. I killed _____. How you ask? _____." Bancroft ordered the cards to read, "That's right. I killed African children. How you ask? An AR-15 assault rifle." During interviews with Bancroft, he admitted to creating the posts on his Facebook account. He told HCSO deputies that he made the posts out of frustration, and wouldn't actually hurt anyone.
An arrest warrant for Bancroft's arrest was obtained. Deputies attempted to serve it where he was staying in Dover, but Bancroft had left to visit a friend in Clermont. The Orange County Sheriff's Office and Polk County Sheriff's Office were made aware of the warrant. At approximately 11:00 p.m. July 25, 2020, Bancroft was arrested in Orlando by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office takes all threats to injure or kill others very seriously, and this includes threats made online on various social media platforms," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "HCSO's mission to serve, protect and defend the citizens of Hillsborough County extends beyond the streets we patrol every day. If you think you can hide behind a computer screen when threatening to hurt another person, you are absolutely wrong. I want to thank our law enforcement partners, the Polk County Sheriff's Office and Orange County Sheriff's Office, for their assistance throughout the course of this investigation."
Bancroft was arrested on a felony charge of Written Threat to Kill or Do Bodily Injury. He is currently booked at the Orange County Jail awaiting transfer back to Hillsborough County.
*Booking photo courtesy: Orange County Department of Corrections