A 38-year-old New Jersey man who still lives with his mother was arrested in his pajamas this week and charged with making a threat to kill a Florida sheriff who recently took a forceful stand against antisemitism and other hate messages.
“I cannot wait to meet him when he gets off the plane,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a press conference on Tuesday announcing the arrest of Richard Golden of Monmouth Junction.
“Because one of the first faces he’s going to see welcoming him to the Volusia County and Volusia County Jail, the happiest place on Earth, is going to be me.”
ADVERTISEMENT
After Chitwood spoke out about a neo-Nazi group that has targeted his community—and allegedly even put him on a hit list—Golden joined a chat about it on 4Chan and repeatedly recommended violence, the sheriff said.
“Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the new problem,” Golden allegedly wrote. “But shooting Chitwood in the head solves the immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head—murder him.”
The Central Florida Intelligence Exchange flagged the anonymous online comments and an investigation was launched that identified Golden as the alleged author.
“They discovered that he’s anti-government, he’s anti-law enforcement, and like every other active shooter we come across is a marginalized member of society who spends hours and hours and hours in these extremist chat rooms,” Chitwood said.
He called Golden a “clown” and said he was “right out of central casting.” Chitwood said his only regret was that Golden wasn’t in his underwear when cops put the cuffs on him.
Video showed that when New Jersey police knocked on Golden’s door, his mother answered. He then came down in a disheveled state and asked police if he could get his shoes before he was hauled away.
His mother led the officers to her son’s room, apologizing that it was like a “gym locker.”
“It’s OK,” one cop said.
“No, it’s not OK,” she said.
Chitwood said that Golden, who is unemployed, admitted to police that he made the comments on 4Chan. He will be extradited to Volusia County, where his bond will be set at $100,000, the sheriff said.
The sheriff has said that a group calling itself the Goyim Defense League is responsible for a series of hateful incidents, including antisemitic leafletting and declaring a “national day of hate.”
Because he has come out and called them cowardly punks, Chitwood has been personally targeted; his parents were swatted and his daughter was harassed by phone.
He said he will not be intimidated and on Tuesday was promoting the sale of “Scumbag Eradication Team” T-shirts to benefit an anti-hate youth program.
