The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which polices Palm Harbor and Dunedin, arrested a St. Petersburg man after he allegedly posted a threat to behead County Commissioner Brian Scott.

Rodolfo Mienert, 68, faces one felony count of written threats to kill, according to the Sheriff's Office. He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail.

The charge stems from a comment Mienert allegedly posted on a local media outlet's Facebook page. The original post, published Nov. 1, criticized Scott's vote approving a mosque expansion in Pinellas County. In response, a user commented: "But Scott's WAS, and he's a 'Republican' turncoat,...off with his head!"

Detectives with the Sheriff's Office Threat Management Unit received a report about the comment on Nov. 2. They traced the account's IP address to Mienert, the agency said. When detectives contacted Mienert at his home, he confirmed the account was his.

Mienert told detectives he attended a recent Board of County Commissioners meeting where a woman in full Islamic attire appeared and was escorted out. He stated he is "very vocal and not afraid to share his opinion" on political issues. He said he called Scott a "turncoat" because the commissioner, who identifies as a Republican, voted for the mosque expansion.

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-3 on Oct. 13 to approve a land-use amendment for the expansion of the Masjid Al Rahman mosque, as Fox News reported. The vote changed the property's land use from residential rural to public and semi-public.

Scott was elected to the commission in 2022. He is a business owner and president of Escot Bus Lines, according to the county's website.

Mienert retired from the New York City Police Department as a sergeant after 22 years of service, according to detectives.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a statement that the threat was "intolerable." He said the office "will strictly enforce the law against anyone who makes threats of this nature."

WFLA reported that the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the arrest. CAIR-FL Communications Director Wilfredo Ruiz said in a statement that disagreements over zoning "must never be met with intimidation, bigotry, or calls for bloodshed."

Anyone with information about threats can contact the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at (727) 582-6200 or visit getfortifyfl.com.