GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — The GBI has arrested a man after a post on social media apparently threatening people protesting the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery has caught the eye of investigators.
The GBI tweeted Sunday that it is investigating a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests connected to Arbery, who would have turned 26 on Friday, but was shot and killed Feb. 23.
On Sunday night, the agency said it had arrested Rashawn Smith, 20, and charged him with dissemination of information relating to terroristic acts. He was taken into custody in Midway, Ga.
NEW: Georgia man arrested for social media post that threatened people protesting Ahmaud Arbery’s murder: https://t.co/2LaHR6YX5a pic.twitter.com/2tBFBkoiAO
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) May 11, 2020
Police said he created a Facebook account of an unwitting individual to post a hoax threat.
[RELATED: Ahmaud Arbery case leads to new push for hate crime legislation in Georgia]
The GBI is also looking into additional footage of the day Arbery was killed. The GBI says the video has been part of the case file from the beginning.
A surveillance camera at a Brunswick home near where Arbery was shot shows someone, who appears to be Arbery walking into a home under construction, and coming back out.
Arbery’s father told us his son jogged in that area regularly.
The GBI has arrested Rashawn Smith, age 20, & charged him with Dissemination of Information Relating to Terroristic Acts for a Facebook post that contained a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery.
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) May 10, 2020
Read ⬇️:https://t.co/vyVpTNimAO pic.twitter.com/hcgDuUvB8N
The GBI has been made aware of a Facebook post that contains a threat to future protests related to Ahmaud Arbery. We are actively investigating this situation and will provide pertinent updates as necessary.
— GA Bureau of Investigation (@GBI_GA) May 10, 2020
© 2020 Cox Media Group
