Facebook comments about storming Sedgwick County Courthouse lead to man’s arrest (+video)

Authorities have arrested a man who allegedly threatened to storm the Sedgwick County Courthouse and kill law enforcement officers if a man on trial for murder had been found guilty.

Sheriff Jeff Easter announced the arrest at a news conference Thursday, saying the threats had been made in connection with the Kyler Carriker case.

In comments posted on Facebook, the man asked, “Is it out of line to storm the courthouse if he’s found guilty?”

When someone replied that it was not out of line, he said, “I’m down as long as you guys don’t mind me being armed,” adding in another post “I’m serious.”

When another person posted “It is your RIGHT,” the suspect responded: “Not just that. It’s a necessity. If we get a decent number of people to charge through the front doors and security, the police there will attack us. Often times, the only way to defend yourself from a cop is to kill the cop which means using a rifle to penetrate their body armor.”

This online exchange was reported to law enforcement by a number of people, Easter said, including one woman who was so frightened by it she drove downtown to report it in person.

Carriker was on trial for felony murder in the April 18, 2013, shooting death of Ronald Betts during a $1,100 marijuana deal. Several people have protested outside the courthouse during the trial, and the case prompted Carriker’s mother, Jennifer Winn, to run for public office.

Carriker was found not guilty Thursday afternoon.

“We are very understanding and completely agree with peaceful protests,” Easter said. “Those have been taking place for almost two weeks now. We haven’t even monitored those protests.”

But someone making explicit threats to come to the courthouse and kill law enforcement officers is not going to be ignored, he said.

“That we are not going to tolerate,” Easter said, adding later, “This is not normal behavior. This is not peaceful protesting.

“This is a credible threat. We have to address those immediately.”

Additional security was put in place at the courthouse Thursday, though jurors in the case – who were in deliberations at the time – were not made aware of the increased security presence.

Investigators are looking into whether the suspect is connected to the protesters, Easter said.

The suspect was already known to local law enforcement, Easter said, because he had been seen over the past several months walking around downtown Wichita carrying an assault rifle, with a handgun and an ax tucked into his waistband.

More than once, residents have called 911 to express concern for their safety. But the man was “practicing his Second Amendment rights” in compliance with open-carry laws that had gone into effect on July 1, 2014, Easter said.

The man had posted a photo on his Facebook page showing him walking around in dark clothing and a face mask while carrying a backpack and rifle.

Details on where and when the suspect was arrested have not yet been released.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Facebook comments about storming Sedgwick County Courthouse lead to man’s arrest (+video)."