A Florida man accused of posting online threats to carry out mass violence has been arrested and charged with making an interstate threat and a weapon violation, federal court records show.

Alexander Lightner, 26, of Venice, Florida, allegedly posted comments online that were “intended to convey the message that he was planning to conduct a racially or ethnically motivated mass casualty event,” according to an affidavit.

He was interviewed by FBI agents from the bureau’s Tampa Field Office a week later on January 5, and law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lightner’s home before he was arrested.

While searching Lightner’s home, FBI agents found an unlawful firearm suppressor in a laundry hamper of a bedroom he shared with his brother and “propaganda regarding white supremacist and accelerationist ideology in Lightner’s bedroom,” according to court records.

  • prole@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Why would there need to be something “beyond” economic concerns? If it’s between living outside in the winter, or sharing a room with another adult, I think most people would choose the latter.

    • MagicShel@programming.dev
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      1 year ago

      That is a completely artificial choice because there are a million other options. We are human beings with the power of thought and the need for privacy and agency. Those are needs. Needs that were going unmet and he was somehow incapable of finding any other solution.

      There is something going on there besides the economic because that alone doesn’t force someone into this situation. Mental or psychological impairment can, though.