A local man was arrested Wednesday for making threats against Anchor Faith Church in St. Augustine.
“All of you at Anchor of Faith can thank her for what’s about to happen.”
“Purge start Friday!!”
“Some of y’all are going with me.”
“I wouldn’t have Bible study tonight, and if they did, this would be a night I would miss.”
Those are just some of dozens of posts from Tityus Mitchell’s Facebook account made hours before deputies arrested him for making threats to the Anchor Faith church.
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Deputies said they found him in a car with several weapons: a shotgun, an axe, two baseball bats, and two machetes, along with ammo, ski masks, and marijuana.
“We began to pray immediately to try to de-escalate the situation,” said the church’s Pastor Earl Glisson.
One of the posts seemed to mention him specifically - saying “Don’t let Earl preach tonight.”
He immediately locked down the church’s onsite school while deputies responded to the scene.
“So no one’s afraid, no one’s in fear. We just jumped in and did what we’re called to do, and we made contact, all the while praying for the one out there making the threats,” said Glisson.
The pastor mentioned that Mitchell had been a member of the congregation.
“His family’s been here. They’ve been great. They’ve been an asset,” said Glisson.
Read: 11-year-old arrested, accused of making threat toward Hilliard Elementary, NCSO says
Police haven’t said why Mitchell would make the threats and Glisson said he had no idea either. He wouldn’t say if Mitchell had issues with the church before but he hopes this will lead to a healing moment.
“Hopefully, he’s taking some time to think, to be safe. Wait a minute… what was I thinking?”
“I’m praying for him. I’d love to be able to go see him personally just because, you know, we’re about restoration,” said Glisson.
Mitchell faces felony charges of written threats to kill, as well as a misdemeanor charge for disrupting a school function. Last time Action News Jax checked, he was being held in police custody.
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