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A 4chan user set off alarm bells for the Minecraft community and the authorities in Florida, United States. The subject, identified as Richard Golden, was arrested for threatening an officer and insinuating a possible shooting.
According to the details, Golden made threats against Mike Chitwood, a local police officer, on the popular forum. He insinuated that he would kill him with a gunshot to the head, but in order to lessen the impact of his statements, he pointed out that he would do it in Minecraft. However, the authorities decided to act and arrested him at his mother's house.
"Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem... in Minecraft," Golden wrote on 4chan. The Florida Intelligence Clearinghouse alerted the agent about the threats against him, so authorities acted without hesitation to stop a possible crime.
The report reveals that Golden was arrested at his mother's home, located in New Jersey. The subject was formally charged and extradited to Florida, where he will spend time in the Volusia County Jail.
The post uses the term "minecraft," a term often used on 4chan to mask supporting violence. Users of "/pol/" have committed violence, such as the Buffalo mass shooter & a Washington, D.C. shooter last year. https://t.co/yh4zcvmGfD https://t.co/evbScXqJ0q https://t.co/jNaHfGkius
— Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) March 15, 2023
Many believe that Golden thought there would be no problem with his message by making it clear that he would be doing it in a virtual environment such as Minecraft. However, some radical groups use the name of the popular game on 4chan to reference and mask violent acts, as researcher Alex Kaplan points out.
The police are aware of this, so he was taken to jail and bail was set at $100,000 USD. Several images and a video showing his arrest are circulating on social networks. Gamers reacted to his arrest with jokes about the stereotypical 4chan troll living in the basement of his mom's house.
What a shame. A 4chan troll has to come out of his room.
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) March 15, 2023
Thank you @SoBrunswickPD pic.twitter.com/9dI0AurKnN
In case you missed it: Nintendo gives you the official guide to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a PDF free gift
With this development now 4chan users may be more cautious with their choice of words and avoid being jailed for comments made as a way to troll that really would not do anything, although it is difficult to know what intentions are behind each user so the police are also very aware of what happens in this network and learning more about them.
What do you think about this situation? Let us know in the comments!
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