Man who threatened mass shooting against gay people at Florida State University arrested by FBI
A Winter Park man who admitted posting an image of a semi-automatic rifle with threats to kill gay people in a mass shooting at Florida State University was arrested by the FBI.
Sean Michael Albert, 19, was arrested Tuesday on a federal charge of making an interstate communication to threaten to injure another person, according to court records. During a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Orlando, U.S. Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd ordered him to be detained until trial.
The criminal complaint says that on Dec. 16, the FBI in Orlando got a tip about a threat made several days earlier on Discord, an instant-messaging and social-media platform popular among gamers and also members of the alt-right.
The post consisted of a photo of an AR-15 or similar weapon along with a caption that included a threat against gay people, though a slur was used to refer to them. The post was written by someone using the moniker “BloodStainedSand#0088.”
“600 W College Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32306,” Albert allegedly wrote. “At 13:00 December 17, 2022 100 (expletive deleted) Will Die, Cya there!”
The FBI contacted FSU's police department in the wake of the threat, which was made after finals week and when residence halls were closed, according to a university official. FSU PD stepped up campus patrols as a result "out of an abundance of caution," the official said.
Albert, who is being held in federal detention in Orlando, told the FBI that the post was “a joke.” He was appointed a federal public defender and found not to have competency issues.
The FBI traced the post to Albert, who attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, and his apartment outside Orlando. Agents learned that instead of traveling to Tallahassee, Albert flew to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16, and returned to Orlando on New Year’s Day.
He agreed to an interview with the FBI after agents approached him at Orlando International Airport.
“During the interview, Albert was asked why he thought he was being interviewed,” the complaint says. “After providing three possibilities of why the FBI would want to speak with him (none of which involved illegal activity), Albert responded that it was probably because ‘(he) made a post online that may be perceived as a mass shooting threat.’ ”
The complaint says Albert admitted to posting the threat and the photo of the rifle, which he said he got off Reddit.
“Albert was asked to explain his mindset when he posted the threat and whether he understood that posting that type of content is in violation of federal law,” the complaint says. “Albert responded that he did not believe his post was illegal, stating that the post was meant to be ‘ironic,’ ‘satirical’ and ‘a joke.’ ”
The FBI said Albert acknowledged listing the address of a Florida university in the post. He noted that the Discord server where he posted was filled with “extreme controversial ideology and potentially other illegal content," according to the complaint.
“When asked why he picked that address to include in the threat, Albert stated the reason was because it would be the most reaction from those on the Discord server,” the complaint says.
FBI interviews of Albert’s roommate and apartment manager revealed “a history of violence and a pattern of concerning behavior,” according to court records.
“In particular it is assessed that Albert has rapidly progressed from making controversial statements online, to confrontation with classmates and peers in online spaces, as well as direct confrontation with people outside of his university,” the complaint says.
The FBI investigation also found that Albert previously made statements including “Kill all joggers,” an alleged coded reference to Black people, “Tear gas a synagogue." He also allegedly posted a slur for gay people, writing “a genocide ... NEEDS to happen not even a question.”
The complaint noted that Albert had been interviewed by the FBI at least once before, in April 2021, though no details were included.
Contact reporter Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Man who threatened mass shooting at FSU in Discord post arrested by FBI
