Local officials in Florida were reportedly threatened over a new Costco store opening, with one person asking for their home addresses and pictures of their kids
- A person reportedly threatened officials in Stuart, Florida, over a new Costco store.
- WPTV said the person asked locals to share home addresses for city commissioners on Facebook.
- Opponents of the store say it could damage the local wetlands and make traffic worse.
Officials in Stuart, Florida, were reportedly threatened in a Facebook post over plans to open a Costco store.
A report from the local Florida news channel WPTV on Thursday quoted a comment in a private Facebook group that urged people to share city commissioners' personal details, including photos of their children, car-registration numbers, and home addresses. It was posted ahead of the officials' meeting last week, WPTV reported.
"Bring tar and feathers for the city commissioners? Post their home addresses, pictures of their home addresses, pictures of their cars, license plates, kids, family?" the Facebook user wrote, according to WPTV.
The newly approved Costco store, which is part of a larger development, has been debated for several years. While some residents say they're happy to have new jobs in the community, others say the development could damage wetlands and make traffic worse.
Troy McDonald, a city commissioner, told WPTV last week that he had asked his wife to be vigilant.
"It is unacceptable to put that kind of rhetoric out there online," he said. "It puts people in danger and quite honestly, I'm outraged."
Insider reached out to McDonald for further comment but did not immediately hear back.
The police said they didn't plan to launch a full investigation into the post because the Facebook user did not share the commissioners' personal details, WPTV reported.