Video above: Legal fight could stall Riviera Beach plan to demolish Barracuda Bay water parkA Georgia man is facing federal charges in connection with a threatening voicemail left to a Palm Beach County School Board member.The Riviera Beach Police Department announced Tuesday that Henry Paul Demarco, 63, made his first appearance in federal court in South Florida on Monday.Demarco is charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure.The Riviera Beach Police Department confirmed to WPBF 25 News Tuesday evening that the victim was Palm Beach County School Board member Edwin Ferguson.“We will not tolerate any threats that cross the line and break the law,” Riviera Beach Police Department Chief Michael Coleman said in a statement. “With the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office taking the lead and pursuing the case federally sends a message loud and clear that hatred has no place in our city.”The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release on Monday that on Sept. 19, 2025, Demarco left a voicemail message to Ferguson threatening to, “blow head off.”Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsThe DOJ said the call came from Georgia to Riviera Beach, which is in the Southern District of Florida.The Justice Department said Demarco was granted bond with the condition that he have no contact with Ferguson.WPBF 25 News reported in September 2025 that Ferguson received death threats after he made comments in relation to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at an outside event on the campus of a Utah university on Sept. 10, 2025.The commissioner of the Florida Department of Education released a letter statewide in regard to teachers making comments about Kirk’s death.In response to the letter, Ferguson stated during a school board meeting, “I looked at the statutes and administrative rules that were referenced in this Sept. 11 letter from DOE and I’m thinking unless you as a parent or you as a teacher feel bad because I as a teacher don’t miss a racist, a racist bigot at that, I don’t see how you’re going to be at risk of losing your teaching certificate.”Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Ferguson urged teachers to “say what you need to say” but emphasized that it should not be in a discriminatory way or a way that could offend people.The comments led to heated commentary during school board meetings and a protest outside the school board office in October.If convicted, Demarco faces up to five years in federal prison. The FBI office in Miami investigated the case with the assistance of the Riviera Beach Police Department.

MIAMI —

Video above: Legal fight could stall Riviera Beach plan to demolish Barracuda Bay water park

A Georgia man is facing federal charges in connection with a threatening voicemail left to a Palm Beach County School Board member.

The Riviera Beach Police Department announced Tuesday that Henry Paul Demarco, 63, made his first appearance in federal court in South Florida on Monday.

Demarco is charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure.

The Riviera Beach Police Department confirmed to WPBF 25 News Tuesday evening that the victim was Palm Beach County School Board member Edwin Ferguson.

“We will not tolerate any threats that cross the line and break the law,” Riviera Beach Police Department Chief Michael Coleman said in a statement. “With the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office taking the lead and pursuing the case federally sends a message loud and clear that hatred has no place in our city.”

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release on Monday that on Sept. 19, 2025, Demarco left a voicemail message to Ferguson threatening to, “blow [the victim’s] head off.”

Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News

The DOJ said the call came from Georgia to Riviera Beach, which is in the Southern District of Florida.

The Justice Department said Demarco was granted bond with the condition that he have no contact with Ferguson.

WPBF 25 News reported in September 2025 that Ferguson received death threats after he made comments in relation to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at an outside event on the campus of a Utah university on Sept. 10, 2025.

The commissioner of the Florida Department of Education released a letter statewide in regard to teachers making comments about Kirk’s death.

In response to the letter, Ferguson stated during a school board meeting, “I looked at the statutes and administrative rules that were referenced in this Sept. 11 letter from DOE and I’m thinking unless you as a parent or you as a teacher feel bad because I as a teacher don’t miss a racist, a racist bigot at that, I don’t see how you’re going to be at risk of losing your teaching certificate.”

Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

Ferguson urged teachers to “say what you need to say” but emphasized that it should not be in a discriminatory way or a way that could offend people.

The comments led to heated commentary during school board meetings and a protest outside the school board office in October.

If convicted, Demarco faces up to five years in federal prison. The FBI office in Miami investigated the case with the assistance of the Riviera Beach Police Department.