A Miami Twp. man was arrested by FBI agents for allegedly making a racially motivated social media post threatening to kill tens of thousands of people in Cincinnati this weekend.
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Scott Michael Hanna, 30, was charged with making an interstate communication with a threat to injure after posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, about organizing mobs to kill ’30k’ by Sunday.
Hanna’s post tagged both Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio State Highway Patrol and appears to be about the viral video that showed a large group of people targeting and attacking a couple.
Hanna was accused of saying he was working to organize mobs to kill thousands, according to an FBI spokesperson and federal court documents obtained by News Center 7.
“The FBI aggressively investigates those who threaten our communities with violence. Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences,” FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola said in a media release Friday.
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News Center 7’s Mike Campbell was in the federal courtroom in Dayton Friday when Hanna made his first court appearance. Cameras are not allowed to record proceedings in federal courtrooms.
During the hearing, Hanna was informed of the charge he is facing, and a detainment hearing was set for August 7.
Agents told Campbell they were taking Hanna to the Shelby County Jail, where he’ll be held until his next hearing. As of late Friday afternoon, he is still not listed as an inmate in that jail.
Hanna faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison if convicted.
According to federal court documents, police were already familiar with Hanna due to previous incidents at his home on Orchard Run Road. On Sept. 11, 2024, Hanna had called 911 and threatened to kill a woman.
“While (police were) enroute, Hanna called dispatch and requested to speak with a detective and told them if they were not going to charge a specified individual then he was going to cut off her head,” FBI investigators said in federal court documents obtained by News Center 7.
Hanna was accused of using a racial slur towards an officer during his arrest in September, federal investigators said in court documents.
Hanna was initially charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct from the incident, according to municipal court records reviewed by News Center 7. He later pleaded guilty to the charge of resisting arrest, and the disorderly conduct charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of 29 days in jail, provided he completed one year on probation.
Federal investigators said Miami Twp. police were also familiar with the woman Hanna threatened to kill in that Sept. 11 incident. The two had a previous encounter where Hanna claimed she tried to break into his home, leading him to swing a sword at her neck. This caused a serious injury described as a ‘partial decapitation.’
Federal court documents did not indicate the date of the sword attack, and a request for information from Miami Twp. police by News Center 7 has not yet been fulfilled. However, the request was acknowledged by a township spokesperson that it was being fulfilled.
News Center 7 did not find any public records in municipal courts or the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas indicating Hanna was charged with the sword attack mentioned by the FBI spokesperson and included in the federal criminal complaint.
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