Florida sheriff welcomes man who allegedly threatened him
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood (right) meets Richard Golden (center) on March 27, 2023 at Orlando Sanford International Airport. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
A Florida sheriff recently confronted a New Jersey man who allegedly threatened to kill him in a post online – by meeting him at the airport.
Richard Golden, 38, is charged with one count of making a written threat to kill or harm him, according to Volusia County Jail records. He was charged earlier this month with allegedly threatening Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on a Channel 4 bulletin board “due to the sheriff’s recent stance against a neo-Nazi hate group”.
“In the chat, various users discussed Sheriff Chitwood’s response to recent hate activity in Volusia County,” according to a VCSO press release. “One anonymous user (later identified as Golden) stated, ‘Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he’s no longer a problem. You need to find a new guy to be the problem.’ He added: “But shooting Chitwood in the head permanently solves an immediate problem. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him.” The information was reported by the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange (CFIX) and a joint investigation was launched, which eventually identified Golden.”
The offending posts were allegedly written on February 22 in response to Chitwood’s remarks against a series of anti-Semitic protests by anonymous people wearing masks in Florida earlier this year. The sheriff says he and his family have been repeatedly targeted by neo-Nazis because of this.
The defendant was arrested March 14 at his mother’s home in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, the VCSO said.
Richard Golden of Monmouth Junction, NJ, is accused of threatening to kill Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. (Volusia County Jail)
“I can’t wait to meet him when he gets off the plane,” Sheriff Chitwood said during a news conference announcing the charges. “Because one of the first faces he’ll see when he welcomes him to Volusia County Jail, the happiest place on earth, will be me.”
Golden was extradited to the Sunshine State on Monday.
Chitwood made amends for that earlier statement during a brief interaction at Orlando-Sanford International Airport.
“I’m the sheriff of Volusia County, Mike Chitwood…” Chitwood said to Golden when the man acknowledged him before moving on. “I hope you enjoy your stay. Welcome to Florida.”
In a follow-up interview, the sheriff criticized the defendant for refusing to speak for himself as he got off the escalator.
“I wanted him to look me in the eye and say, ‘You’re the guy I want to put a bullet in the head,'” Chitwood said. “He walked right past me. I mean, how cowardly can you be?”
The sheriff continued to denigrate “key commands” that post racist and anti-Semitic threats online in extremist-oriented spaces.
“They preach all this stuff about eradicating a race, eradicating a religion,” Chitwood said. “We will not accept that.”
The defendant is currently being held on $100,000 bail. If he posted bail, he could return to the Garden State.
Watch the meeting and more in the player below:
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https://lawandcrime.com/crime/welcome-to-florida-sheriff-meets-extradited-man-who-allegedly-posted-4chan-threat-against-him/ Florida sheriff welcomes man who allegedly threatened him