4chan user arrested following death threats against Florida Sheriff "in Minecraft"

A 4chan user was arrested after he made death threats against a Florida sheriff on one of the site's message boards.

Richard Golden, a 38-year-old New Jersey man, posted on the infamous /pol/ message board calling for someone to kill Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood following his denouncement of an anti-Semitic hate group.

At the end of his post, Golden added the phrase "in Minecraft." The term is a thinly-veiled attempt to avoid legal consequences for making threats of violence and has become commonplace on /pol/ and other extremist message boards.

Golden was arrested on Monday, March 13, 2023, at his mother's house in Monmouth Junction. Police bodycam footage of his arrest was later uploaded on the Law&Crime Network YouTube channel. He will be extradited to Volusia County, Florida, where Chitwood says he awaits his arrival.

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What 4chan user Richard Golden said about Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood

In February, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood publicly denounced the Goyim Defense League, a white supremacist hate group in Florida, after the group attempted to publicly distribute anti-Semitic literature.

This drew the ire of many white nationalists across the country, as he became a topic of discussion on far-right message boards. This included the 4chan message board /pol/, which stands for "politically incorrect."

Richard Golden posted on /pol/ calling for someone to kill Chitwood, adding the phrase "in Minecraft" at the end of his death threat. He wrote:

"Just shoot Chitwood in the head, and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the problem. But shooting Chitwood in the head solves an immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him. In Minecraft."

As mentioned earlier, Golden was arrested by South Brunswick police at his mother's home on March 13.

In a tweet, Sheriff Chitwood praised the work of the South Brunswick Police Department while also joking about Golden's living situation.

"What a shame. A 4chan troll has to come out of his room."

Golden will be extradited to Florida, where he will be in Chitwood's custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail. The Sheriff expressed his desire to meet the man who made death threats against him in person.

It remains to be seen whether saying "in Minecraft" is enough for Golden to build a legal defense.