State drops case against Ormond man after feds indict him on charge of threatening Trump
After a federal grand jury indicted an Ormond Beach man on a charge of threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, the state dropped its criminal case.
Sheldon Biddle, 25, had been accused in state court of posting on his X social-media account that Trump should "shut up before you end up like Kennedy" as well as threats against others. The State Attorney's Office on June 9 formally dropped the state felony charge as U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe pursues the federal case against Biddle in the Middle District of Florida.
In late March and early April, Biddle posted a string of invectives against Trump, Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Dan Bongino, the FBI deputy director.
Among the threats: "Trump is gonna get assassinated for being a treasonous traitor," and "so if I say someone should kill @elonmusk & @realdonaldtrump for betraying Americans & enforcing tyranny I'm the bad guy?"
His X feed, which was active before Ormond Beach police rearrested him on June 5, includes antisemitic, pro-Hitler, and racist content.
Biddle was booked in the Volusia County Jail on April 11 and released on $10,000 bail. Ormond Beach rearrested Biddle on June 5 after the federal grand jury handed down its indictment. Biddle faces a detention hearing before federal Magistrate Judge David Baker in an Orlando courtroom on June 11.
Biddle made an initial plea of not guilty on June 6. He has been assigned a federal public defender and is scheduled to go on trial on August 4.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida drops case against Ormond Beach man now facing federal charge
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