A Florida man living out of his car is behind bars, accused of making death threats to various law enforcement agencies, including the Jupiter and Boca Raton police departments. According to WPTV, 43-year-old Bret Hullinger's alleged online vitriol extended to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and FBI employees as well.

Biloxi Police Department in Mississippi first flagged the concerning social media activity on February 21, after stumbling upon posts from an account with the name "Bret Vitullo," a presumed alias for Hullinger. One of the posts chillingly stated, "[P]ost every bit of information you have about me or kiss your loved ones goodbye and tell them I am going to torture you to death." These ominous words were supposedly penned by Hullinger himself, and the post also featured images of Jupiter Police Department property. Jupiter police, after being alerted by the Biloxi Police Department, reported that they had no intentions, of posting anything about him.

The threats escalated with a photo of a knife and a message threatening violence against officers, "This picture is the knife I will stab the officers who don’t post the truth right now in the face with as hard and deep and as many times as I can." Hullinger's bond was set at $120,000, with a subsequent hearing scheduled for April 25, as per court records.

In an interview, former Boca Raton Police Chief Andrew Scott emphasized the seriousness of such threats to law enforcement, telling CBS12, “If you take a look at the threats made on social media, that's the growl, and eventually that growl turns into a bite, meaning the fulfillment of the threat. And that is extremely important with regard to officers recognizing that they cannot just blow this off.” Reinforcing the intolerance of threats, overt or veiled, Scott admitted any would make him "feel very uncomfortable."

Hullinger now faces eight total counts, which include intimidation for writing death threats and extortion, all 2nd-degree felonies. The troubling posts, alongside confirmation from surveillance footage that he was in the vicinity, led to his arrest. The police were partly aided by Hullinger's own face being the profile picture of the "Bret Vitullo" account, and additional names listed, which included "Schaller Hullinger Dimwitsky O'Shine."