Punta Gorda man arrested for death threats against local leaders

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a Punta Gorda man has been arrested for sending over thirty threatening emails to senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and a Punta Gorda police officer.

Before making those threats, Charles Bentley allegedly sent over a hundred a day to employees at the Jewish Family and Children Service (JFCS), a nonprofit in Port Charlotte.

Court records state the ways Bentley allegedly threatened to kill those employees, including cremation, shooting, or driving his truck through their office.

Those threats even led to the closure of the JFCS center for their safety. Bentley allegedly sent similar threats to a Punta Gorda police officer and senators Rubio and Scott.

Authorities said he threatened to drive through every congressman’s office 777 times and even demanded $500 million.

WINK News safety and security expert Kristen Ziman, a former police chief, said this case speaks to the harsh reality of online threats.

“This case really highlights the growing concern over threats made through digital platforms where we can almost foreshadow what’s to come,” said Ziman. “We see that there is what we call leakage in any kind of act of violence where these individuals will post it somewhere, and in this case, he made overt threats. These have far-reaching impacts on public safety and mental health and trust in community institutions.”

Bentley remains in the Charlotte County Jail, held without bond.

He is charged with written threats to kill, cyber-intimidation threatening bodily harm, and obstruction.

According to court documents, the U.S. Capitol police and Senator Rick Scott plan on pressing charges in connection with the threats made toward the senators.

“He may face additional federal charges as well for using interstate communications, which means it goes across jurisdictional lines,” explained Ziman. “And then, of course, on top of that, you have potential hate crime enhancements.”

The fact that Bentley resisted arrest, even needing to be tasered, does not help.

“His explicit threats to harm individuals and his obstructive behavior during his arrest solidified the case for both state and federal charges,” said Ziman.

But, Ziman also pointed out their could be another issue at play.

“His irrational demands, his escalating language, the voluminous amount of messages that were sent to these entities, they do point to an underlying mental health issue which may become a factor during prosecution,” said Ziman.

Bentley was arrested at the Pilot Travel Center on Jones Loop in Punta Gorda on New Year’s Eve.