Meme-Maker Blamed For Facebook Threat To Congresswoman

DES PLAINES, IL — Police are investigating a social media post allegedly made by a Des Plaines man threatening to raise a lynch mob against Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Florida). The man named in the post told the Chicago Tribune he and his family have been been receiving death threats after a screen capture of his alleged Facebook posts was shared thousands of times on Twitter.

The Des Plaines man closed his page to public comment after getting to what he described as an "out of control" argument with strangers about Rep. Wilson on his Facebook page, according to the Tribune. He denied using the words that were attributed to him and blamed a maker of memes with malicious intent.

The Miami Congresswoman has been the subject of national political debate over the past week after she described as "insensitive" the phone call between President Donald Trump and Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, who died in an ambush in Niger.

» White House Doubles Down On Miami Area Congresswoman

The 54-year-old Des Plaines man told the Tribune he read the post as a joke and initially said he was unable to remember whether he threatened to lynch Wilson. He suggested the meme's creator may have rearranged some of his words. Police, he said, had assured him there was nothing for him to worry about.

"I did not not use those words," he told the paper. "I don't think a lot about what I write on Facebook."

» Read more from the Chicago Tribune

This is Tom Keevers. He is looking for help lynching Congresswoman Wilson. He needs more fame pic.twitter.com/beUjokLtT1
— Samuel L. Bronkowitz (@SamBronkowitz) October 21, 2017

_{Top Photo: Congresswoman Frederica Wilson | Joe Skipper | Getty Images}