PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Kentucky teenager involved with a white supremacist group and a violent online group has been arrested in connection to a bomb threat made to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in August, according to an arrest affidavit.
On August 16, 18-year-old Curtis Hodge of Louisville, Kentucky, was said to have called PBSO Dispatch at 1:44 p.m. with the bomb threat. Hodge told the dispatcher that he was going to " blow you up," and when asked who he was threatening, he responded, "You, the police."
Region C Palm Beach County
Operations back to normal at Palm Beach Co. Sheriff's Office after threat
The call caused the sheriff's office to shut down and evacuate its entire facility, including its dispatch center. Roads between Congress Avenue and Kirk Road were shut down while PBSO investigated.
The sheriff's office reopened the area after a "thorough investigation was concluded," all locations were secure and safe to resume regular operations.
At approximately 1:50 PM, we received a call reporting a bomb threat. PBSO deployed multiple units to investigate, including the Bomb Unit, our helicopter, K-9 bomb-detection dogs, and all available road patrol officers. All PBSO facilities on Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach,… pic.twitter.com/bW8CGw3uz6
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) August 16, 2024
Investigators were able to track down Hodge through the IP address linked to the device that made the bomb threat call.
Louisville law enforcement officials revealed Hodge's known affiliation with violent online group, 764 Group. The group is said to extort minors to post or live-stream explicit content including self-harm and child sexual abuse through the use of threats, manipulation and blackmail.
He was also found to be a part of a white supremacist group; Hodge was said to be kicked out of high school and later a Job Corp program for making Swastikas in a welding class.
West Palm Beach residents who live near the sheriff's office were relieved to hear about the arrest.
"It's mind-blowing and very disheartening," resident Christina Torres said. "I feel a lot safer knowing that the person involved was put away."
Hodge was arrested Oct. 9 on a charge of threatening to discharge a destructive device.
