Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Black man made fake threat against black people in Buffalo to see if racists would 'agree with him': Report
August 05, 2022
Federal agents have arrested a black man in Buffalo, New York, for making a false threat against black people to see whether racists on social media would support him.
According to WIVB-TV in Buffalo, Rolik Walker, 24, of Buffalo, was arrested for a tweet he supposedly published on May 16 from an anonymous account. In the tweet, he reportedly threatened that he and his "associates" would be "targeting" Buffalo-area grocery stores and that they were "only looking to kill blacks."
Walker, who is black, allegedly issued the tweet under the Twitter handle @ConklinHero just two days after white man Payton Gendron, 18, from Conklin, New York, allegedly shot and killed 10 black people and injured three others at a Tops Friendly Markets grocery store in Buffalo. The violent crime has been deemed a "racially motivated hate crime."
An FBI affidavit claims that Walker "stated that the purpose of the post was to see what everyone would say and if anyone would agree with him.”
Court filings state that Walker attempted to obscure the origin of the @ConklinHero account by using an app that masks IP addresses.
Prosecutors also claim that Walker told law enforcement that he created a second anonymous Twitter account “in an effort to rectify the earlier post.” In the second post, Walker supposedly replaced "only looking to kill blacks" with "ants, spiders and things of that nature." Police say they did recover from his cellphone a screenshot of a post from the second account that claims he didn't mean any harm.
On Thursday, U.S Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that Walker had been arrested and charged with making an interstate threat. The charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Walker appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer on Thursday and was given a conditional release. He has been assigned an attorney.
Want to leave a tip?
We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?
Sr. Editor, News
Cortney Weil is a senior editor for Blaze News.
cortneyweil
Cortney Weil
Sr. Editor, News
Cortney Weil is a senior editor for Blaze News. She has a Ph.D. in Shakespearean drama, but now enjoys writing about religion, sports, and local criminal investigations. She loves God, her husband, and all things Michigan State.
@cortneyweil →more stories
Sign up for the Blaze newsletter
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content that may sometimes include advertisements. You may opt out at any time.
© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Get the stories that matter most delivered directly to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content that may sometimes include advertisements. You may opt out at any time.