South Brunswick 'clown' arrested for allegedly threatening to kill anti-Nazi Fla. sheriff

Mike Chitwood, the sheriff of Volusia County, Florida, can’t wait to see South Brunswick resident Richard Golden step off the plane after his extradition to the Sunshine State.

“One of the first faces he’s going to see welcoming him to the Volusia County Jail, the happiest place on earth, is going to be me,” said Chitwood, whose jurisdiction includes Daytona Beach.

Golden, 38, was arrested March 6 by South Brunswick police at his mother’s home in the Monmouth Junction section on charges he allegedly made an online threat to kill Chitwood who has risen to prominence for taking a stand against a neo-Nazi hate group.

Golden was being held at the Middlesex County Correction Center pending extradition to Florida, according to authorities.

Golden's mother told authorities that her son stays in his room and is always on the internet, according to a press release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. She said he doesn’t work, rarely leaves the house and is hostile toward law enforcement and the government.

Golden allegedly posted a written threat to kill or cause injury to Sheriff Chitwood in a 4Chan chat on Feb. 22. Golden stated in the chat: "Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the problem," according to a press release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

"Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him,” he added in the chat.

The comments were flagged by the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange which identified Golden.

Golden was arrested following a joint investigation by the FBI, South Brunswick police and Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

"Like every other active shooter that we come across is a marginalized member of society who spends hours and hours and hours in these extremist chat rooms,” Chitwood said in a press conference. "Here's a clown sitting in his bedroom who is indoctrinated by this (expletive) and thinks the best way to solve the problem is to put a bullet in my head.”

"Somebody indoctrinated by this (expletive) goes in and wipes out people in a synagogue," Chitwood said. "Extremism is extremism is extremism."

"His postings were anonymous ... Everything is anonymous. They don't want to be identified," Chitwood said before holding up Golden's picture. "But I guess if I looked like this, I wouldn't want to be identified either, being 38 years old and living in my mother's back bedroom with no job.”

“The anonymous nature of the internet may make people feel they can say anything, but if you make threats or put people in fear we will use all our resources to track you down,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said.

"Being 974 miles away from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office was no distance too great for the teamwork of law enforcement," Hayducka said.

Email: alewis@gannett.com

Alexander Lewis is an award-winning reporter and photojournalist whose work spans many topics. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ man arrested over threatening to kill Florida Sheriff Mike Chitwood