Former South Jersey Man Threatened To Kill President Barack Obama, Authorities Say

A South Jersey native who now lives in Beaufort, S.C., has been accused of threatening to kill President Barack Obama.

William Peterman, Jr., formerly of Medford Lakes, NJ, posted on his Facebook page on Jan. 10, 2017, that he “will kill” Obama, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Peterman believes Obama slept with his fiancee, and later spoke about it in a nationally televised speech, according to philly.com.

He was in Reading, Pennsylvania, when the post was made, according to the Burlington County Times.

“This case and the resulting indictment demonstrates the Secret Service’s proactive stance investigating threats against those we are sworn to protect,” said James Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Philadelphia Field Office, said in a release. “When brought to our attention - whether in person, electronically or written, the Secret Service takes every threat very seriously.”

In the statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the increased use of various forms of social media have increased the number of online threats, and that they vary in nature.

“Law enforcement agencies as a whole, take such online based threats seriously and they can easily evolve into federal criminal charges for those individuals making them,” authorities said. “Threats against the President of the United States and others that the United States Secret Service is statutorily authorized to protect is the Secret Service’s number one investigative priority.”

Peterman Jr. attended Shawnee High School in Medford, and studied at The College of New Jersey, according to nj.com.

If convicted, Peterman faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a possible $250,000 fine, a period of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anita Eve.