Police investigating online threat calling for people to torch Santa Cruz Police Ranger truck

A threat made on Facebook calls for disruption and sabotage during the cleanout of the massive homeless encampment in Santa Cruz.

The comment goes on to encourage people to “torch one of those shiny Ranger trucks,” and then gives a list of materials to make a bomb.

Santa Cruz Police Chief, Andy Mills, said while harsh comments are made all the time on social media, this crossed a line.

Police already planned on being at the encampment Friday for the cleanout and possible protest and say that will not change.

“People talk trash, but the reality is that there were some specifics there that maybe that person may or may not intend on doing something, but who is that one-off person that might do something. And that is a bit more of a concern. So what we do is, we analyze the threat and plan for them and that was part of the contingency plan anyway,” said Mills.

It was made on a post on the ‘Food Not Bombs’ page. The founder of Food Not Bombs, Keith McHenry said he knows the person who posted the comment, but they are not at all associated with his group.

“I know that he is inflammatory and I’ve told him repeatedly to not even mention those kind of things around me. I have encouraged him to stop, he’s not out here helping people, he eats with us (Food Not Bombs), but he’s got nothing to do with us,” said McHenry.