St. Pete Man Made Threatening Comment About Pinellas Commissioner: Sheriff

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A 68-year-old St. Petersburg man and retired New York City Police Department sergeant has been arrested after posting a threatening comment about Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott in response to the official’s recent vote approving a mosque expansion in Tarpon Springs, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Rodolfo Mienert was charged with one felony count of written threats to kill, the agency said.

Detectives with the PCSO Threat Management Unit began its investigation on Monday, after receiving a report about a threatening comment posted on a local media outlet's Facebook page.

The original post, published Sunday, criticized Scott's vote approving a mosque expansion in Tarpon Springs.

A Facebook user commented in response, "But Scott's WAS, and he's a 'Republican' turncoat,...off with his head!"

Investigators used various investigative techniques to trace the IP address associated with the account to Mienert, the sheriff’s office said. When detectives contacted him at his home, he confirmed the account belonged to him.

Mienert told detectives he had attended a recent Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners meeting where a woman wearing full Islamic attire appeared and was escorted out of the meeting.

He told investigators that he was "very vocal and not afraid to share his opinion," particularly on political issues.

During his interview with detectives, he said that he called Scott a "turncoat" because the commissioner identifies as a Republican but voted in favor of the mosque expansion, the sheriff’s office said.

Mienert, a retired NYPD sergeant who served for 22 years, was transported to the Pinellas County Jail.

According to detectives, Mienert is

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri condemned the comment and said that “threatening to cut off the head of a county commissioner because of his vote on a land issue is intolerable and we will strictly enforce the law against anyone who makes threats of this nature.”

See Also:

• Man Arrested In Connection With Homicide At Sarasota Apartment: Police
• 3 Masked People With Knives Reported At Boca Ciega High School: Police
• Tampa Police Search For Driver In Deadly Hit-And-Run Crash
• New Details On Victims After Plane Crash Kills 9 In FL
• Hulk Hogan's Widow Sky Daily Denies Grooming Allegations Amid Lawsuits: Reports
• Bicyclist Killed In Halloween Night Crash On State Road 54: FL Troopers
• 2 Killed, 11 Injured In Mass Shootings At FL Halloween Parties
• FL Woman Threatened To Shoot President Trump At Campaign Rally: Sheriff