‘Don’t go to Walmart next week’: Florida white supremacist arrested for threatening copycat shooting

A Florida white supremacist has been arrested for threatening a copycat shooting at a Walmart store just one week after 22 people were killed at a Walmart in east El Paso in one of the worst mass shootings in the country’s modern history.

The Florida store is one of at least five Walmart locations that have received threats over the past week after the El Paso massacre, law enforcement agencies said.

Richard Clayton, 26, was arrested over the weekend by Florida Department of Law Enforcement authorities in Winter Park after making an online threat, according to police.

Clayton allegedly posted on Facebook, “3 more days of probation left then I get my AR-15 back. Don’t go to Walmart next week.”

The threat echoes the shooting allegedly carried out by 21-year-old Patrick Crusius in El Paso on Aug. 3. The suspect entered the Walmart and opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle. Nearly 50 people were hit by the gunfire before the suspect exited the store and was later arrested a short distance away.

Police said Crusius, a native of Allen, a Dallas suburb some 10 hours away, admitted to the crime and said he was trying to kill as many Mexicans as he could. He also posted a “manifesto” online espousing white supremacist and anti-immigrant sentiments.

Florida authorities said Clayton holds some of the same beliefs.

“Clayton appears to believe in the white supremacist ideology and has a history of posting threats on Facebook using fictitious accounts,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials said.

Clayton was charged with intimidation through a written threat and is being held on $15,000 bond.

The arrest was among a number of recent cases of police departments nationwide dealing with Walmart threats.

In other incidents:

— Another Florida man, from the Tampa area, called a Walmart on Aug. 4 and told an employee he would shoot up the store, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The man faces a false threat charge.

— In Texas, officers responded to a threat posted Saturday on social media, the Harlingen Police Department said in a statement. “During the course of this investigation, officers learned that a male subject had used a social media site to post up an imminent threat that was to occur at the Walmart in Harlingen on a specific date,” it said. A man was arrested at his home for making a terroristic threat and is awaiting arraignment.

— Also in Texas, police in Weslaco arrested a 13-year-old boy after the boy’s mother brought him to the station Saturday. The boy will face a charge of terroristic threat for making a social media post Wednesday that prompted a Walmart to be evacuated, police said on Facebook.

— Kansas City police in Missouri tweeted Friday and Saturday that they were looking into threats posted on Reddit and other online sites regarding a local Walmart.

Walmart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said the chain is focused on safety and security at its 5,000 stores nationwide.

“We take threats seriously and provide additional security as appropriate. We will continue to help federal and local authorities with their investigations to determine the source and any credibility of the threats.” he said.