New York man allegedly threatens to kill mayor, police at St. Patrick’s Day parade

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New York man allegedly threatens to kill mayor, police at St. Patrick’s Day parade

A New York man was arrested on charges of allegedly threatening to kill the mayor of Yonkers and city police officers at a St. Patrick's Day parade.

Ridon Kola, 32, is accused of posting threatening messages on social media saying he would slaughter and crucify members of the Yonkers Police Department along McLean Avenue, which is along the city's parade route.

A day before the parade, he was taken into custody Friday on charges of threatening interstate communications, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

According to a criminal complaint, Kola started posting messages in 2021. In a Nov. 19, 2021 post, he was accused of writing a threat in Albanian that was translated to: I am going to slaughter you little girls.

The following month, he allegedly wrote that he was going to kill officers and mayor Mike Spano.

In December 2021, investigators spoke with Kola at his home. The complaint states that he admitted to writing the messages but said they were not serious and he had no plans to harm officers or the mayor. The police searched his home but found no weapons.

The police department issued a warning to officers to exercise caution and diligence when interacting with Kola because of the threats.

Kola allegedly started sending threatening messages on March 6 and that he was looking for an officer and would burn the world until he found him, according to the complaint.

In a March 9 message, Kola threatened to crucify the police and their bosses all along McLean ave, the complaint states. He allegedly said it would be a horror scene.

Prosecutors said that Kola lives in an area close to where the parade ends and that he had also posted a picture of himself holding an ax.

U.S. attorney Damian Williams said Kola's actions would not be tolerated.

He said that threats against police or undermine public safety would not be tolerated, as Kola now faces prison time for his threats against our dedicated law enforcement partners who are tasked with keeping us safe.

Kola faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison if convicted.