A Black Louisiana teenager has been identified as the person who posted a social media message late last month that threatened to kill Black people at an Alabama fair and used white supremacist imagery, police said Thursday.
Pharrell Smith, 18, of Lafayette, La., was arrested by Lafayette police Thursday on unrelated charges and is expected to be extradited to Alabama to face a felony charge of making a terroristic threat once he is released from custody in Louisiana, Opelika police said.
Opelika police began investigating the Facebook post Sept. 19 where the poster, later identified as Smith, said he and his friends “are coming to [the] Opelika Alabama fair to kill every NEGRO that we lay eye contact on so be prepared. WHITE POWER.”
The poster’s profile included the Confederate battle flag and twice said they were going to attend the Lee County Fair from Oct. 4 to Oct. 8.
Opelika police traced the social media account to a home in Lafayette and identified Smith as a suspect.
Anyone with further information on the incident was asked to call Opelika police at 334-705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 334-745-8665. Tips may also be submitted through Opelika police’s mobile app. Tipsters may remain anonymous.