2 Westport teens charged with posting threatening anti-Trump, racial fliers in downtown late last month
Two Westport teenagers have been arrested and charged with posting fliers downtown late last month that contained inflammatory messages and threats against President Donald Trump.
One 18-year-old and another juvenile under 18 were charged with second-degree breach of peace, police announced Thursday.
The fliers appeared in the early morning hours of Sept. 27 in downtown Westport and immediately went viral online across local social media and blog pages, causing “a great deal of alarm” for some community members, Lt. Anthony Prezioso said.
The messages included unspecific threats of violence against the president and white residents of Westport. One began with a large-print threat against Trump and ended with a supposed warning that “once we win, we’re coming to Westport.”
Westport police launched an investigation and collaborated with federal agents because of the content of the messages, Prezioso said.
Detectives reviewing surveillance footage captured in the neighborhood found video of the teens posting the fliers and were able to use that to positively identify them, Prezioso said.
The younger juvenile was charged through a juvenile referral and while detectives obtained an arrest warrant for the 18-year-old suspect, who turned himself in to police Thursday morning. The 18-year-old suspect was released on $500 bond and will be arraigned next month in Superior Court in Norwalk.
Zach Murdock can be reached at zmurdock@courant.com.
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