(FreedomBeacon.com)- A Yonkers man who previously expressed support for the Islamic State was arrested on Friday for threatening to kill police officers and the mayor of Yonkers on the street where the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was scheduled, The New York Post reported.
According to federal authorities, Ridon Kola, 32, sent a direct message to the Yonkers police on social media threatening to “crucify” officers “and their bosses” on McLean Avenue, vowing to make it a “horror scene.”
The city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday traveled down McLean Avenue. And while Kola did not directly threaten to attack the parade, he was quickly arrested by members of the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force on Friday.
Kola was charged with making threatening interstate communications and appeared in federal court on Friday.
According to Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Kola made a series of disturbing online posts in recent years, including expressing support for jihad and the Islamic State.
In 2021, Kola also replied to the official Yonkers police social media account threatening in Albanian that he would “slaughter you little girls.”
Then on March 9, Kola sent a DM to the Yonkers police account warning that he would crucify Yonkers police officers on McLean Avenue.
According to the Post, Kola was arrested at his Yonkers home where he reportedly lives with his sister. One neighbor told the Post reporter that Kola never acted “creepy,” but instead seemed “normal.”
In a statement on Friday, US Attorney Williams said that threats of violence against law enforcement would not be tolerated. He said Kola now faces prison for making threats against those “tasked with keeping us safe.”
Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza praised the “outstanding collaborative efforts” of the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Intelligence Division of the Yonkers Police for ensuring that the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade was “free from intimidation by bad actors.”
