Two Florida men are in custody after being accused of making terrorist threats and allegedly plotting a mass shooting.
Isaiah Oglesby, 23, and James Thomas Goolsby, 25, were arrested on Monday after an investigation into their social media activities. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Tampa Fox station WVTV, the Federal Bureau of Investigation notified the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office of a potential mass shooting threat. The girlfriend of one of the two men notified the FBI after becoming suspicious of her boyfriend’s Instagram posts, according to police.
According to the affidavit, federal investigators confirmed that the accounts belonged to Oglesby and Goolsby before notifying Pinellas County authorities, who took over the investigation. The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for the men’s social media accounts and reportedly discovered several disturbing comments that appeared to outline their alleged plans to carry out a mass shooting.
According to WTVT, Oglesby allegedly prompted the suspicious communications, asking Goolsby, “Wanna plan an attack?” He allegedly said, “I’m radicalising my son to never trust the government.” Oglesby also wrote to Goolsby, “It better be a bloodbath for every corrupt politician on Capitol Hill,” and “So, when are we going to bomb the White House?”
In response, Goolsby appeared to agree with the alleged plot, writing to Oglesby, “Totally, dude, skibidi massacre.” According to the affidavit, he also wrote, “I really hate people, I wish I could end everyone and blow the whole world up.”
Both men allegedly expressed antisemitic and discriminatory attitudes towards other religions. Goolsby allegedly said he wanted to “blow up” a mosque. They also allegedly shared videos of active shooters.
Court records show that the alleged threats were made in July of last year.
Goolsby and Oglesby were arrested in Pinellas County on Monday and charged with making threatening communications or threatening to commit a mass shooting. Oglesby remains in custody on a $150,000 bond, while Goolsby is held on a $200,000 bond. Their upcoming court dates were not made public.
