Inset: Michael Maguire (Volusia County Sheriff's Office). Background: The neighborhood in Florida where Michael Maguire lives and was arrested for allegedly making threats (Google Maps).
A Florida man has been arrested for spewing racist and terroristic threats at individuals online, claiming he was a "protector of white people" and a "violent felon" who viewed critics of President Donald Trump and reporters as "enemy combatants," police said.
"I will 86 on sight," Michael Maguire, 64, wrote on YouTube about CNN reporters, referring to eliminating and identifying them as "active shooters," according to a Volusia County arrest affidavit viewed by Law&Crime on Monday.
"I'm here to protect the white people," Maguire allegedly wrote in another post on Nov. 1, which was made on YouTube. "I'm not a keyboard warrior, (I'm) a violent felon and inmate that's now free."
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office received reports of Maguire's alleged posts, and he was arrested on Nov. 18 for making written threats to kill or do bodily injury. A terrorism charge was filed on Friday after he was rearrested on Thursday.
Maguire's arrest documents outline how he allegedly wanted to take people's heads "off" to keep "as a trophy," while also threatening Jewish and Muslim citizens.
Volusia County deputies worked with the FBI National Threat Operations Section to track down Maguire, who served time in prison for attempted murder, and take him into custody last month using his IP address. In several different posts, Maguire allegedly threatened CNN and BBC reporters while declaring them enemies of the United States and the president. Trump has previously sued CNN, a case which was later dismissed, and has recently threatened to sue the BBC.
"As an American, I perceive the actions of the BBC as an act of war against the president and against the people of the United States of America," Maguire said, according to his arrest affidavit. "You are a foreign enemy. Any BBC reporter I run across in the United States will be treated as an enemy combatant…… you fill in the rest, but I'm out for blood you motherf—ers."
Describing his criminal past, Maguire allegedly wrote, "Caught those two attempted murder charges for shooting a confidential informant and his mother-in-law." His girlfriend confirmed to authorities that he was a convicted felon who did time for shooting an informant in Seminole County.
Online records show that Maguire was released from prison in 2019 after serving a 10-year sentence for attempted first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.
Describing himself as a "Walmart vigilante," Maguire wrote on Nov. 2 that he didn't want to "be nice anymore" toward people of color, according to his arrest affidavit.
"F— everybody," Maguire allegedly said. "You're gonna see some … John Wick s—."
On Nov. 15, Maguire allegedly wrote, "The purge is finally here. … Blood, and guts and gore everywhere."
After being arrested in November, police said Maguire was informed that his YouTube comments "concerned" some people. He told cops, "They should be concerned," according to the affidavit. He allegedly referred to his statements as "political speech" and accused the officers arresting him of "trying to kill President Trump."
Maguire was being held Monday without bail and is due in court for his arraignment on Dec. 11, according to online records.
