Feds arrest Myrtle Beach man for ‘hate-based threats’ to kill news reporter
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - A Myrtle Beach man is facing federal charges for allegedly threatening a New York news reporter over a previous arrest.
The Southern District of New York said 35-year-old Austin Suman was arrested after he “made a series of violent and hate-based threats to a news reporter, threatening to kill her and her family, as well as blow up her house.”
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Suman was arrested Friday as a result of a large police presence in the Cresswind neighborhood in Myrtle Beach that included the FBI and other agencies. He was later booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, where he remains as of Friday afternoon.
Suman is charged with threatening interstate communications, willfully making a threat involving explosives and interstate stalking.
Officials said Suman made the threats as a “personal grievance against her for her previous reporting of his prior arrest.” The report in question centers around Suman’s arrest in February 2019, where he was accused of threatening a roommate with a gun.
In a federal complaint, Suman is accused of making multiple racial and ethnic slurs toward the reporter in addition to threatening her and her family.
Prosecutors said Suman will be brought to New York to face charges in federal court.
SUSPECT’S MOTHER SPEAKS OUT
Suman’s mother spoke with WMBF News Reporter Ashley Listrom in an exchange at their home following his arrest.
She claimed the reporter in question is a “sensationalist” and “has ruined more people than she’s helped.”
“Years ago she destroyed my son,” she said. “He wasn’t even convicted of the first thing the news is talking about. He wasn’t even convicted. The charges were dropped.”
The family is now also asking for privacy and respect as they navigate this situation.
“My son is not a monster,” Suman’s mother said. “Nothing has been proven that he said or did anything yet at this point. And he’s been through a lot of stuff.”
NEIGHBORS SHOCKED
WMBF News was first alerted by a viewer of several officers and an armored vehicle in the Cresswind neighborhood located near The Market Common. Viewer video and photos also show the moments after Suman was taken into custody.
“It was kind of scary,” said Debi Vecchio, who lives nearby. “Because we saw rifles drawn and they had the shields up and they were yelling at people to come out the house with their hands up. I’m like okay that does not happen in this neighborhood. That does not happen.”
Authorities cleared out of the neighborhood by around 2 p.m. Friday.
Stay with WMBF News for updates.
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