Isaiah Oglesby (left) and James Thomas Goolsby (Pinellas County Sheriff”s Office).
Two Florida men are in custody after they were both accused of making terroristic threats and allegedly planning a mass shooting.
Isaiah Oglesby, 23, and James Thomas Goolsby, 25, were arrested on Monday following an investigation into their social media activity. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Tampa Fox station WVTV, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was tipped off to a possible mass shooting threat by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The person who notified the FBI was the girlfriend of one of the two men, who reportedly became suspicious of her boyfriend’s Instagram posts, police said.
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According to the affidavit, federal investigators verified that the accounts belonged to Oglesby and Goolsby before contacting Pinellas County authorities, who took over the investigation. The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for the men’s social media accounts and reportedly found several alarming comments that appeared to outline their alleged plans to conduct a mass shooting.
WTVT reported that the suspicious communications in question were allegedly prompted by Oglesby, who asked Goolsby, “Wanna plan an attack?” He allegedly added, “I’m radicalizing my son to never trust the government.” Oglesby also wrote to Goolsby, “It better be a bloodbath of every corrupt politiciann in Capital Hill,” and “So, when are we going to bomb the White House?”
In response, Goolsby appeared to be on board with the alleged plot, writing to Oglesby, “Totally, dude, skibidi massacre.” According to the affidavit, he also wrote, “I really hate people, I wish I could end everyone and blow the world up.”
Both men allegedly expressed antisemitic sentiments and discriminatory feelings towards other religions. Goolsby allegedly stated that he wanted to “blow up” a mosque. The two also allegedly shared videos of active shooters.
According to court records, the alleged threats were made last July.
Goolsby and Oglesby were both arrested in Pinellas County on Monday and charged with threatening communications or threatening to carry out a mass shooting. Oglesby remains in custody on $150,000 bond; Goolsby is being held on $200,000 bond. Their next court dates were not made available.
