WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A homeless Palm Beach Gardens man accused of making online death threats against West Palm Beach officers faced a judge Thursday morning.
Bryan Slater, 46, is accused of making a fake Facebook account and writing death threats to West Palm Beach police leaders and officers.
WATCH BELOW: Suspect accused of using fake Facebook account to threaten officers, police say
Police said Slater, while using an alias Facebook account, wrote "All pictured are dead" in the comments of a photo of a group of officers who attended a law enforcement awards banquet on May 22.
According to court documents, when Slater made the threatening post, he used the photo of a 21-year-old deputy who was killed in Polk County in October 2022.
The affidavit said police were tipped off about the threat on June 9 when the West Palm Beach Police Department's public information officer noticed the comment on a photo that was meant to celebrate the accomplishments of a group of officers.
WATCH BELOW: Suspect arrested after written threat against police posted on Facebook
The public information officer immediately let the officers in the photo know about the alleged threat and alerted staff to start an investigation.
The arrest affidavit said police contacted Facebook to track down who created the fake social media account using the deceased deputy's photo.
During their investigation, police learned that a phone number linked to the Facebook account, which was created on March 23, was the same as Slater's Verizon cellphone account.
Slater was arrested Wednesday afternoon on second-degree felony charges of making written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
The arrest affidavit said that when Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detectives interviewed Slater, he admitted that it was his Facebook account.
During Thursday's court hearing, the state prosecutor asked for no bond, saying the threats were serious and keeping him jailed would ensure the community's safety.
The judge issued a bond of $75,000.
"VERY SHOCKING"
Adam Myers, president of the West Palm Beach Fraternal Order of Police, expressed concern over the arrest.
"It's actually very shocking. ... It was concerning, definitely," Myers said.
Myers noted the ease with which authorities tracked down Slater.
"People think that they can hide behind the keyboard, and unfortunately for them, they're pretty easy to track down," Myers said.
He praised the quick response from detectives, who arrested Slater less than 48 hours after the threat was discovered.
"The important thing was to get a message out to the public that if individuals are willing to make threats," Myers said. "They're going to be taken seriously, and they're going to react swiftly."
The motive behind Slater's alleged threats against law enforcement is still under investigation.
