A North Fulton man is due in court this week to face felony charges related to a comment he made on Facebook about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
An Alpharetta woman, who asked not to be named, filed a complaint July 23 with police after a political debate online got personal. It started when she commented on a friend’s post, calling Trump a racist. Her comment “received a lot of feedback,” according to the complaint.
“If we ever cross paths I will kill you and your family,” Jason Kauti wrote on Facebook.
Milton police spokesman Lt. Charles Barstow told Channel 2 Action News that Kauti was arrested after posting the death threat.
“They were having an argument and unfortunately the dialogue turned into threats, some very serious threats,” Barstow told Channel 2.
As recently as Tuesday, public posts on Kauti’s Facebook timeline show him holding a handgun with an expletive comment “suck it…” under a profile picture of the University of Miami Hurricanes football logo.
The woman told police that Kauti said on social media he went to Milton High School and was a member of the Class of 1997. She shared a screenshot of the post, but Barstow said police couldn’t act until they verified that “what we see online is exactly as it is.”
It wasn’t the first time Kauti had been in trouble this summer. Fulton County Jail records show he was booked July 24 on charges of felony terroristic threat making, erratic lane change and driving under the influence of alcohol. He paid a $2,600 bond and was released two days later.
Exactly one month later, Kauti was back in jail, this time related to the Facebook comments.
Though the July 24 DUI charge came a day after the woman’s complaint, the warrant related to his online threat wasn’t signed until Aug. 24, Fulton County Jail spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said.
“So it would seem that Kauti turned himself in to be processed for the new charge,” Flanagan wrote in an email.
Kauti paid the Alpha Bonding Company for a $7,500 bond and was released from jail Aug. 26.
He is due in court for a preliminary hearing Friday.
