A Florida man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly threatened to shoot “weak Republican” senators and their families if they voted against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
The Polk County Sheriff’s office announced in a statement that 53-year-old James Royal Patrick Jr. of Winter Haven was arrested after posting threats on his personal Facebook page.
Patrick reportedly called for a “literal war against liberals” and threatened to shoot members of Congress who did not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
{mosads}”I can tell it seems I will be sacrificing my life for my country,” Patrick wrote, according to the newspaper. “But I am ready and will know who needs to be killed after the vote to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.”
Patrick allegedly wrote about buying new ammunition for his sniper rifle and said he was stockpiling supplies, adding that he “just cleaned out the gun shop.”
“Getting ready if Kav is not confirmed,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “Whoever I think is to blame, God have mercy on their soul.”
“I expect to be confronted and I will be ready to kill and ready to die,” he added, according to the Times.
Patrick also called on other conservatives to join him in “killing [liberals] in their sleep!” police said.
“I can’t do this by myself,” he wrote online, also threatening to shoot any local or federal law enforcement officers who came to his home.
Officials received a tip about Patrick’s posts on Wednesday and procured a search warrant for his home within hours.
Deputies seized a 308 hunting rifle with scope, a .50-caliber Desert Eagle handgun, ammunition for both firearms and numerous receipts from local gun shops in Patrick’s home.
Patrick told police that he had no intention of following through on the shooting, saying he just wanted to “annoy liberals” with his statements.
Patrick also told deputies that he thought he could “get away with” his posts since he did not name a specific senator, according to the department’s statement.
He was booked into the Polk County Jail on a $500,000 bond for one count of written threats to kill or injure.
Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement that Patrick was arrested without incident.
“People need to calm down, and stop making threats of violence — we will not tolerate it,” Judd said. “Anyone who threatens to kill a public officer or law enforcement officer will go to jail.”
Kavanaugh cleared a key hurdle Friday as senators voted 51-49 to end debate on his nomination to the Supreme Court.
He received a boost from Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was the only Republican who voted against the cloture vote.
A final vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination is being set for Saturday afternoon.