A man from Louisville, Kentucky, is facing federal charges after he asked people to send him $30,000 to shoot at police officers who were on the street outside of his home. Cortez Lamont Edwards, 29, started broadcasting on Facebook Live last week after the officers responded to a disturbance in his neighborhood.
During the video, he picked up a pistol and asked his viewers for $30,000 to shoot the officers outside.
On Sunday (September 27), special agents from the ATF, Homeland Security Investigations team, United States Marshal Service, Federal Protective Service, and Louisville Metro Police Department served a search warrant at his home and found him sleeping on the couch. He was taken into custody without incident.
Investigators found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a weapon he was not allowed to have because he is a convicted felon.
He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
"Threats against law enforcement are unacceptable," Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Field Division of ATF said. "When you threaten police and brandish firearms, you can expect the attention of ATF."
It is unclear if he will face additional charges for threatening to shoot the police officers.
"Louisville needs healing and safety for its citizens, not armed felons seeking bids to shoot police," U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said in the statement.
Photo: Oldham County Detention Center