The Sturgis Police Department is Investigating a Facebook message they received about a possible list of lone wolves plotting homegrown terror attacks and the rally may be a target.
Sturgis Chief of Police Geody Vandewater said they immediately reached out to the FBI. Vandewater said the FBI is trying to track down the original social media post.
But it is not an easy process.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find the origination of the post like I said once you share it and then you continue to share it. The origination kind of gets hard to find,” Vandewater said.
Vandewater said often people post for attention especially with the climate of fear coming after the recent mass shootings. He said it’s difficult to regulate social media sites but they take each threat seriously.
Scott Balay, a rally goer, said though he feels safe with the heavy presence of law enforcement, the idea of a potential threat is concerning.
“It seems like every time around the corner there’s always a police officer and they really do seem to make you feel safe. But if there are lots of people that are trying to come in here with guns then I guess I don’t know. There’s a lot of places that people can hide,” Balay said.
Harold Amaral, a rally goer, said despite the many places someone can hide a gun, he believes law enforcement has it under control.
Amaral said whoever would even think about coming to ruin the fun better think again.
“Plus, with all the other bikers here. It’s not really a place you want to do that. Anyone starting to shoot at me, again, there are so many places people can have guns. It’s not going to just be them. There’s enough other bikers that I don’t think anyone would try to do that here. It’s kind of not a place that you would want to,” Amaral said.
The Sturgis Police Department doesn’t have any credible threat at this time. However, the police will keep the public updated if that changes.
If you see a threat on social media, contact your local law enforcement agency or the Sturgis Police Department who is investigating. Do not share the threat. Police say this will help them determine where the post originated from. Below is a screenshot of the message posted on the Sturgis Police Departments Official Facebook Page.
Sturgis Police Department Warn of Potential Terror threat at motorcycle rally
