A Massachusetts man brandished a sword when federal agents tried to arrest him on Wednesday for allegedly making threats online against President Donald Trump, the FBI said.
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Andrew D. Emerald, of Great Barrington, held “a long, metallic sword in one hand” and a “sheath to that sword in the other hand” when officers showed up at his door. The man, who is in his 40s, told agents they would have to shoot him, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday.
Emerald was ultimately arrested with the help of an FBI crisis negotiator and a local police officer who got him to voluntarily leave his residence and surrender to authorities, the affidavit said, adding that the FBI seized multiple swords and bladed weapons from Emerald’s house following his arrest.
He was charged with eight counts of interstate transmission of threatening communications and could face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 if found guilty. Emerald pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday, according to court documents.
The FBI affidavit said Emerald had previously been barred from owning a firearm after the Secret Service contacted him in 2018 for allegedly making threats against the Trump administration online, in which he asked: “Why the f— can’t anybody go on a mass shooting against Trump and his administration.”
During an interview about that 2018 threat, Emerald allegedly said he would not continue posting against Trump. Emerald requested to be placed in a background check system that would keep him from owning a gun, the affidavit said.
Emerald continued publishing threatening posts last year, however, according to a news release from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. Prosecutors allege Emerald posted eight times, from May to July, threatening to injure Trump.
The court-appointed attorney who represents Emerald did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the allegations against Emerald, who is set to appear in court again later this week.
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