Prosecutors said a New York man was arrested on charges of allegedly threatening to kill the mayor of Yonkers and city police officers at a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Ridon ColaThe 32-year-old American is accused of posting threatening messages on social media saying he will “kill” and “crucify” Yonkers Police Department members “all along” McLean Avenue, which runs along the city’s parade route.
According to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, he was taken into custody on Friday, the day before the parade, on charges of endangering interstate communications.
Cola began posting in 2021, according to a source. application for initiation of criminal proceedings. In a message dated November 19, 2021, he allegedly wrote a threat in Albanian, which was translated as: “I am going to stab you little girls,” the complaint says.
The following month, he allegedly wrote that he was going to kill officers and Mayor Mike Spano.
Investigators spoke to Cola in December 2021 at his home. The complaint says he admitted to writing the messages but said they were not serious and he had no plans to harm the officers or the mayor. The police searched his home but did not find any weapons.
Because of the threats, the Central Internal Affairs Directorate issued a warning to employees to “exercise discretion and caution” when interacting with Kola.
According to the complaint, Cola began sending threatening messages again earlier this month, writing on March 6 that he was looking for the officer and would “burn the world” until he found him.
In a March 9 post, Cola allegedly threatened to “crucify” police officers and their bosses “all over McLean Avenue,” the complaint said. “It’s going to be a horror scene,” he allegedly said.
Prosecutors said Cola lives in the area where the parade ends and that he also posted a photo of himself holding an axe.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Cola’s actions were unacceptable.
“Threats of violence against the police or undermining public safety are unacceptable as Kolya has now been charged and faces jail time for threatening our loyal law enforcement partners tasked with keeping us safe,” the statement said.
If found guilty, Kolya faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
