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Queens Man Arrested for Making Facebook Threats After Zimmerman Verdict

By Katie Honan | July 22, 2013 2:30pm
 A Far Rockaway man was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after responding to the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial on Facebook.
A Far Rockaway man was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after responding to the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial on Facebook.
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Allison Joyce/Getty Images

QUEENS — A Far Rockaway man was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats on Facebook about killing white people and police officers in response to the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, according to a criminal complaint.

Police said Remel Newson, 20, posted the threats — including what his lawyer said were lyrics inspired by a song by Drake — as a Facebook status on his wall on July 17.

Newson has a prior conviction for assault and served eight months of a two-year prison sentence  before being released in May, authorities said. He was accused of strangling, punching and pushing a woman in Far Rockaway, according to the office of Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

He used the hashtag "Kill all whites" and also wrote "let's kill cops nd [sic] neighborhood watcher," according to the complaint.

Newson also allegedly posted another threatening status later in the day that said "da floccs in da lobby we grip with da shotie nd we'll catch a body. [sic]"

His lawyer, Tasha Lloyd-Garcia, says Newson is an aspiring rapper and posted his own lyrics to the song "Versace" by Drake.

The first post, she said, was cut-and-pasted from someone else's page.

Cops said Newson broadcasted the status to his 1,811 friends, and the status was "liked" by seven people, including the suspect.

Officers from the 101st Precinct also found marijuana inside a bedroom at Newson's Beach 47th Street home, according to the complaint.

When they arrested him, police said Newson told them he "f----- up" and the post was a "stupid mistake."

The NYPD would not comment on details of the arrest. 

Lloyd said she was "disturbed" by the NYPD obtaining a search warrant based off of her client's Facebook posts.

"It doesn't seem like it would meet the standard for probable cause to get a search warrant," she said. "There's no common scheme or plans to carry anything out."

Newson was arraigned Friday and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.