No matter what you think of Elon Musk and his role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, leveling death threats at the tech mogul is a step too far. While it's all well and good when his critics have a chuckle at NSFW AI videos of President Donald Trump sucking Musk's toes are shown on screens in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, sending death threats to anyone is a completely different story.
Following in the footsteps of one woman potentially being investigated after she seemed to make a threat of violence toward the Tesla and SpaceX CEO on TikTok, an Indiana man has reportedly been arrested after making a series of posts against Musk.
Posting on Facebook, the Indiana State Police confirmed that 28-year-old David Allen June Cherry had been arrested for Felony Intimidation against Elon Musk. Cherry was arrested on February 18 when detectives from the ISP apprehended him for posting 'life-threatening statements' that were directed to Musk on the X (formerly Twitter) social media app.
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The post explains how a court agreed to a search warrant, and a subsequent search of Cherry's Palmyra home involved detectives confiscating "an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun, ammunition, and a ballistic vest from the residence."
Cherry was questioned at the state police Sellersburg Post and was then transported to the Harrison County Jail to be held without bond. Level five intimidation including the threat of using a deadly weapon can carry a $10,000 fine and up to six years in prison.
As for what Cherry is alleged to have said, the New York Post reports that a now-suspended X account called @effective_pawn was connected to a business owned by Cherry.
In response to a post Musk made about the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Cherry is accused of posting the following on December 6: "We’re gunning you down, Muskrat."
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On January 22, the same account posted about Musk and Andrew Tate: "I’ve got enough bullets for his b*tch a*s and all the rest of you manchildren."
Cherry is accused of sending a threatening message to Musk on February 3, writing, "You’ve broken the law. You're on the hit list," followed by another saying: "You’re robbing the American people. We will gut you and parade your corpse through the streets."
A final post is dated February 16, saying: "I’m going to plant a bomb in Elon Musk’s house."
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This was two days before Texas police got in touch with the Indiana force.
WAVE says that Cherry pleaded not guilty on one count of level five intimidation and was subsequently released from jail after posting a $2,500 bond.
Defense Attorney Bart Betteau says that Cherry plans to fight the charges with the First Amendment: "There’s no question that one of the elements will be concerning political speech. Political speech has kind of the highest place in our constitutional hierarchy of what’s allowed, and there’s no question what the state says may have happened would be political speech."
Harrison County Prosecutor Otto Schalk disagrees and concluded: "You have no greater right to possess surface-to-air missiles under the Second Amendment than you do to make true threats under the First, so every constitutional guarantee, and we take an oath to uphold those, they all have certain limitations."
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It comes after a series of messages between Musk and the alleged mother of his 13th child mentioned threats against his life, while he recently told the cabinet how he's receiving death threats.