After posting coronavirus threat, Texas man told FBI he’s just trying to help, feds say

FBI agents arrested a Texas man accused of posting a coronavirus threat on Facebook, federal prosecutors say.

But the suspect told investigators that he was just trying to help, officials say.

Christopher Charles Perez, 39, was charged with violation of a law criminalizing false information and hoaxes related to weapons of mass destruction, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Perez is accused of posting a threat on Facebook, claiming he paid a person to spread coronavirus at grocery stores in the San Antonio area.

“My homeboys cousin has covid19 and has licked every thing for past 2 days cause we paid him too,” the Facebook said, according to court documents. “Big difference is we told him not to be these (expletive) idiots who record and post online...YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.”

He purportedly was attempting to deter shoppers from visiting the stores to prevent spread of the virus, according to the news release.

Perez told investigators that he thought too many people continued to shop, and he wanted them to take the pandemic more seriously, according to court documents.

“To be clear, the alleged threat was false,” officials said. “No one spread coronavirus at grocery stores.”

Perez was arrested Tuesday. He could go to prison for up to five years, officials said.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 2:20 PM with the headline "After posting coronavirus threat, Texas man told FBI he’s just trying to help, feds say."