CLEVELAND, OH – Two men who were recently taken into custody in Cleveland were hit with federal charges regarding threats. Authorities allege that the two authored a series of Facebook posts that threatened police in said postings.
Both 27-year-old Mustafah Hawkins and 19-year-old Jaywuan Peavy are currently in federal custody after allegedly sharing some disturbing threats online.
On May 31st, authorities stated that Hawkins made the following post on Facebook:
“Mark my words, the change is coming.”
A few days after said post was made, investigators say that Hawkins then posted the following:
“I can assemble a flash mob easy Sunday. We going to fly passed them with [Molotov cocktails] in the backseat and fling them.”
Bedford Heights man facing federal charges for threatening Facebook posts.
https://t.co/0iOW60e5EN— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) June 8, 2020
Affidavits related to the case say that Hawkins made mention of causing mayhem in the likes of Little Italy, while also stating intentions to commit acts of violence against police. Another post on Facebook allegedly made by Hawkins said:
“My verbal consent: If police ever kill me, I don’t want no fucking peace rallies. I don’t want silent protests or black squares on the internet. I want you to burn this mother fucker down…Torch it.”
As for Peavy, he was first taken into custody by the Mansfield Police Department for the alleged online threats made before being handed off to the feds. According to charging documents, he’s been accused of posting on May 30th details of when and where to “riot”:
“Park Avenue riot June 5 @ 7 p.m.”
An alleged subsequent post by Peavy divulged more details with regard to the intent behind the scheduled riot:
“We will be launching three attacks on Mansfield store.”
A local resident was said to have witnessed the post in question, and contacted police promptly. Authorities were said to have taken Peavy into custody one day before the allegedly scheduled riot.
Both suspects have already appeared before a judge in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland, with Hawkins having his first hearing on June 11th and Peavy having initially appeared on June 10th. Both have been charged with using the internet to make threats, which falls under the federal jurisdiction.
A conviction under 18 U.S. Code § 875 could result in up to 20 years in prison.
People often forget that what you post online can land you more than just ramifications of the social-blend. As evidenced in recent cases, it’s clear that the police are not taking online threats with a grain of salt.
In a sense, one should seriously think before they hit “post.”
Take for instance, this recent case coming out of the town of Sanford in Florida.
A 20-year-old man was recently arrested in Florida for allegedly threatening to blow up a police station and also murder police officers. The threats, which were reportedly made online, could land the individual up to 15 years in prison.
#New: @SanfordPolice arrest Daravius Toliver. Investigators say Toliver tagged the department in a Facebook post in June 2nd and threatened to blow up the police department. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/LsRi7GgAID
— Jeff Levkulich (@jlevkulichWFTV) June 4, 2020
Police say that 20-year-old Daravius Toliver made some disturbing threats online, geared directly toward the Sanford Police Department in Florida. In one of these Facebook postings allegedly drafted by Toliver, the following was written:
“Sanford Police Department I wish y’all would try some [expletive]. I’ll kill all y’all n blow up the station.”
While the online postings are no longer visible, as Facebook may have either taken them down or disabled Toliver’s account, another post stated:
“Spd pull up here boy boy ima Swiss cheese that [expletive].”
For those unaware, threatening to “swiss cheese” someone typically refers to being riddled with bullets. In the aforementioned post, Toliver had allegedly tagged the police department’s official Facebook page with those remarks.
Toliver was reportedly taken to the Seminole County Jail, where he’s said to be held on a $30,000 bond for the charges.
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing! (See image below.) Thanks for being a part of the LET family!
