A Colorado man is facing federal charges after Google reported his threatening online messages against police to the FBI, according to Reuters.
Jeremiah Perez, a 33-year-old Air Force veteran from Colorado Springs, was arrested on Monday for allegedly posting threats against police officers in YouTube's comment section under the username, "Vets Hunting Cops."
"The perceived anonymity of the Internet will not serve as a shield for espousing violence in violation of federal law," a federal agent told the station.
In the post, Perez said his "group has killed 6 retired sheriffs and cops," and "we will hunt two more in Colorado [sic] this week."
In retaliation for the death of Michael Brown, the black Missouri teenager fatally shot by a police officer in August, he and his group of "veterans" would continue to "kill retired helpless cops."
After Google alerted the FBI with information about the posts, they traced the poster's IP address to Colorado Springs, where agents identified and arrested Perez, Fox News reported.
"Based on the content of a post/comment to a YouTube video on Google Plus Social Media, Google Inc. believes that there presently exists an emergency involving imminent death or serious bodily injury to a person or persons, and that immediate disclosure to you of certain information is required to avert the emergency," read the message sent by Google to the San Francisco FBI. "The post can be found here, but copied below for your convenience."
"SINCE DARREN WILSON our group has killed 6 retired sheriffs and cops......because of this event we will hunt two more in Colorado this week.....for every innocent citizen that cops kill WE, VETERANS WILL KILL RETIRED HELPLESS COPS........we already started and MORE TO COME NOW.......join us and kill any cop or any retired cop !!!!!!! MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED SINCE THE PROTEST!!! THEY DONT CARE, SO NOW REAL HEROS WILL HUNT THEM ALL!!! fuck ISIS, COPS ARE THE REAL ENEMIES OF FREEDOM LOVING AMERICANS and TIME TO STRIKE BACK IN ALL OUT WAR IS NOW!!!!"
Perez has reportedly admitted to writing the post, but his intention was to "engage YouTube viewers in conversation," according to Business Insider.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison, 9News.com reported, adding that the 33-year-old will have a detention hearing on Dec. 29.
According to a police report, Perez has been under investigation since Dec. 17 and authorities eventually obtained a search warrant.
Earlier this year, Google aided in the arrest of a man who had explicit images of a child in his email after tipping off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
