A man who was arrested in Seattle allegedly called for the “extermination” of all Latinos in Facebook messages where he threatened to also harm and kill a woman in Florida, according to court records.
Eric Lin, 35, had an initial court hearing on Monday in Seattle federal court over a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communications connected to messages he allegedly sent a woman in Miami, according to court documents.
The FBI wrote in a criminal complaint against Lin that in late July the FBI received information from the Miami Police Department that a woman had received threatening messages from two Facebook accounts since May.
The woman provided printed messages totaling over 150 pages to authorities, which included racist and misogynistic statements as well as violent threats to injure or kill her, her family and all Latinos, according to the complaint.
The person who sent the messages also called for the “extermination” of all Latinos and other unspecified racial and ethnic groups, according to the complaint. He also expressed support for Adolph Hitler as well as President Donald Trump, according to the filing.
According to the FBI, the woman said she knew Lin as someone who frequented the restaurant where she worked and that the remarks in the messages mirrored comments he had made in the restaurant discussing mass shootings and idolizing Hitler.
The FBI also wrote that Lin was in Facebook communications with another account offering to pay that person to go to Miami and find the woman’s coworker and injure him or to kidnap the woman.
The FBI went on to say that it traced back the information from the Facebook accounts threatening the woman to Lin.
Lin was arrested in Seattle on Friday on the federal charges, which were filed in Florida.
An attorney appointed to represent Lin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The announcement of the man’s arrest comes weeks after a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people in an attack authorities have said was intended to target Latinos.
