A 68-year-old retired New York City police sergeant was taken into custody after making an online death threat against Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott over a vote to expand a mosque, authorities said.
Rodolfo Mienert was taken into the Pinellas County Jail and charged with one felony count of written threats to kill after an investigation by the Sheriff’s Threat Management Unit.
On November 2, detectives initiated an investigation after receiving a tip regarding a hostile comment written on the Facebook page of a local news organization. The original tweet, published on November 1, chastised Scott for voting to permit the expansion of a mosque in Pinellas County.
According to investigators, a commentor on the post wrote, “But Scott WAS, and he’s a Republican turncoat…off with his head!”
Detectives traced the IP address associated with the comment to Mienert’s St. Petersburg house. When questioned by investigators at his home, Mienert confirmed that the social media account was his.
Mienert informed officers that at a recent Board of County Commissioners meeting, a woman dressed in full Islamic clothing appeared and was taken out. Mienert said he is “very vocal and not afraid to share his opinion,” particularly on political issues. He told deputies he referred to Scott as a “turncoat” because the commissioner, a registered Republican, voted in favor of the land-use approval.
According to investigators, Mienert retired as a sergeant from the New York City Police Department after 22 years of service.
“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,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri stated.
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