No-nonsense sheriff confronts man who threatened to kill him
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood went toe-to-toe with Matthew Moulton, 45, following his arrest in Washington state.
Moulton sent Chitwood an unhinged email accusing him of proliferating ' AI child porn' after the sheriff threatened to publish delinquent children's mugshots, court documents state.
He then allegedly told the law enforcement officer, 'I'm going to have to threaten you with death'.
Police in Florida said they traced Moulton's email address and contacted the College Place Police Department in Washington.
He was arrested on March 31 and extradited all the way to Volusia County, where he is being prosecuted for a felony charge of written threats to kill or do bodily injury.
His extradition last has made waves after Chitwood decided to confront Moulton as he was escorted through Daytona Beach International Airport last week.
'Matthew, I'm Sheriff Chitwood. I'm the guy you want to kill, and there's nothing I can do about it. Challenge accepted,' Chitwood taunted.
Moulton told the sheriff he'd merely sent him a Bible verse from Romans 5, but Chitwood was undeterred.
'You do know in Florida, a written threat to kill is a felony. You know that, right?' the sheriff asked. 'Just so you know, I'm the one who made sure you came back, and I hope you enjoy your stay at the branch jail.'
In a raspy voice, Moulton said Chitwood 'violated his federal rights'.
'I will also tell you that you will not see Mickey Mouse on this trip, and you have to reimburse us for your flight here and for your stay at the at the county jail,' Chitwood said, talking over the suspect.
Chitwood then asked him to 'look me in the eye and tell me why you want me dead.'
Moulton did not directly answer, but began ranting about Christianity and telling the sheriff he wasn't a Christian.
Chitwood argued back and insisted he is a Christian.
'OK, we're going to take you where you need to go. We will make sure the cell has rubber in it,' the sheriff said as Moulton was shown climbing into the back of a police car.
Moulton first contacted Chitwood after the sheriff announced his new policy regarding children's mugshots, according to court documents.
In the email authorities claim was authored by Moulton, he leveled wild accusations at Chitwood involving AI child porn.
'Do you know what the Internet does with the images of children you expose? They put them into AI and make child porn out of them. They post them on 4Chan,' the email said.
During a September press conference, Chitwood raged at underage students who had either brought guns to schools or had made written threats.
'Since parents, you don't want to raise your kids, I'm gonna start raising them. Every time we make an arrest, your kid's photo is gonna be put out there. And if I could do it, I'm gonna perp walk your kid, so that everybody can see what your kid's up to,' he said.
Chitwood made good on that promise right away, posting a video of his deputies perp walking an 11-year-old boy who allegedly had a kill list and threatened to shoot up two schools.
The boy, Carlo 'Kingston' Dorelli, was also found to be in possession of a large cache of weapons, though they appeared to be fake.
Police said they found airsoft rifles, fake ammunition, swords, knives and throwing stars in his bedroom.
Tyler Meyer, 32, also threatened Chitwood. He would later plead no contest and was forced to reimburse the sheriff's department for the costs it incurred to extradite him from California to Florida
Officials also allegedly found a paper in his room with several names that appeared to have stab marks next to them.
'He had written a list of names and targets,' Chitwood said at the time. 'He says it was all a joke.'
Moulton is current in jail on a $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on June 19, 2025.
His arrest report also mentions Moulton's account on GAB, which is marketed as a free-speech social media platform.
His account contains several bizarre posts, including one where he is holding a black, patterned knife that has a cross dangling from the blade.
Since his legal troubles began, Moulton also shared his GiveSendGo page that is supposed to raise money for his defense.
The page, which he titled 'Our Rights Have Been Crucified', has pulled in just one donation of $25 from one of his friends on GAB. Moulton's goal is to raise $1 million.
Chitwood, sheriff of Volusia County since 2017, is no stranger to death threats. Since 2023, he has been on the receiving end of threats from seven different men spread all over the country.
At least three avid users of 4chan, a social media site known for hosting neo-Nazis, were charged in 2023 after threatening to kill him.
Chitwood has long been an outspoken critic of hate groups, especially ones that espouse anti-semitism. The men who made threats were described as Nazi sympathizers by authorities.
They include 40-year-old Richard Golden of New Jersey, 32-year-old Tyler Meyer of California, 25-year-old Cristhian Zapata, and Tony Stromberg of Canada.
All three men pleaded no contest and were forced to pay several thousand dollars to reimburse the sheriff's department for the cost of their extradition. Golden also spent 366 days in prison after he was sentenced on December 1, 2023.
Three other men have also made death threats against Chitwood since 2023, including one man from Alberta, Canada, who allegedly said he would kill the sheriff and his family members.
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