A New York man has been arrested on charges of allegedly threatening to kill the mayor of Yonkers and Yonkers police officers at a St. Patrick’s Day parade, prosecutors said.
Ridon Kola32, is accused of posting threatening messages on social media saying he would «kill» and «crucify» members of the Yonkers Police Department «along» McLean Avenue, which is along the route of the city parade.
He was arrested Friday, a day before the parade, on charges of threatening interstate communications, according to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Kola allegedly began posting the messages in 2021, according to a criminal complaint. In a November 19, 2021 post, she allegedly wrote a threat in Albanian that translated as: «I’m going to kill you girls,» the complaint says.
The following month, he allegedly wrote that he was going to kill the officers and Mayor Mike Spano.
Investigators spoke with Kola in December 2021 at his home. The complaint says that he admitted to writing the messages, but said they were not serious and that he had no plans to harm the officers or the mayor. The police searched his house but found no weapons.
Due to the threats, the police department issued a warning to officers to «exercise diligence and caution» when interacting with Kola.
Earlier this month, Kola allegedly began sending threatening messages again, writing on March 6 that he was looking for an officer and would «burn the world down» until he found him, according to the complaint.
In a March 9 message, Kola allegedly threatened to «crucify» police and their bosses «along McLean Avenue,» the complaint says. «It will be a horror scene,» he reportedly said.
Prosecutors said Kola lives in an area near where the parade ends and had also posted a photo of himself holding an axe.
US Attorney Damian Williams said Kola’s actions would not be tolerated.
“Threatening violence against police or undermining public safety will not be tolerated, as Kola is now indicted and facing prison for his threats against our dedicated law enforcement partners tasked with keeping us safe,” it said in a statement.
If convicted, Kola faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.