Terror Charge For Man Who Coughed On Shoppers

St. Louis’s CBS News affiliate reports:

33-year-old Cuba, Mo. man was arrested Tuesday after coughing on shoppers inside a store and writing “COVID” inside a cooler door.

Officers arrived to a local business for a report of a man causing a disturbance inside. An employee told police the man, later identified as 33-year-old John Swaller of Cuba, Mo., was coughing towards shoppers on purpose. Swaller then breathed on the inside of a cooler door and wrote “COVID” on the inside.

Police said the 33-year-old also placed his hands down his pants and rubbed on the cooler door handle. The store was forced to shut down and sanitized. Swaller is being held on a $25,000 bond for charges of making a terroristic threat.

On what appears to be his Facebook page, Swaller’s “likes” include groups called Pissed Off White Americans and Don’t Tread On Me.