Crime & Safety

Man Arrested in Gwinnett Facing Charges of Online Threat to Obama

The South Carolina man is arraigned in federal court in Atlanta. He also faces firearms charges.

A South Carolina man who was arrested in Gwinnett County on firearms charges also is charged with threatening the life of President Obama on Facebook.

Patrick Randell McIntosh, 28, of Charleston, S.C., was arraigned in federal court Wednesday (February 27) in Atlanta for making "violent and disturbing threats online and via email, including a threat to the life of the President of the United States," according to a statement.

According to federal authorities in Atlanta, McIntosh was indicted in January for illegally possessing three firearms and a large amount of ammunition while under indictment for a felony offense, and for threatening the president. He had been released on state bond after being indicted in South Carolina for felony stalking.

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McIntosh also threatened a woman in the Atlanta area, federal authorities said. The woman reported to Gwinnett County authorities that McIntosh was stalking her, and she gave police the location of a hotel where McIntosh was staying. Law enforcement officers subsequently arrested McIntosh at the location, and recovered guns and ammunition in his possession.

  “Threats against the President of the United States and others we are statutorily authorized to protect are the Secret Service’s number one investigative priority," said Reginald G. Moore, special agent with the U.S. Secret Service in Atlanta. "Every threat, no matter if made by telephone, in person, in writing, or on social media is examined to the fullest extent possible."

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McIntosh faces a maximum possible prison sentence of five years on the firearms charge, and 10 years on the threat charge. He also could be fined up to $250,000 on each charge.


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