Local

Melbourne man who threatened to 'kill' Obama gets GPS tracking device

MELBOURNE, Fla. — A Melbourne man accused of threatening to kill President Barack Obama left federal court on Friday wearing a GPS tracking device.

The Secret Service was notified after Christopher Castillo threatened to "hunt down and kill" the president, then "watch the life disappear from his eyes,” in a post on Facebook days before the election.

As the 28-year-old was leaving court on Friday, his father started yelling at WFTV’s Jeff Deal. He then defended his son, saying the whole thing was a big misunderstanding.

“Did you mean all those things you said about the president?" Deal asked as Castillo was leaving court.

But Castillo, who was fitted for a GPS monitoring system, didn’t say a word.

When agents showed up at Castillo’s Melbourne apartment and asked what he would do if Obama was standing in front of him.

Castillo told them he would, "(Expletive) slap him and beat the (expletive) out of him," and "scream and yell at him and tell him he was a terrorist."

Deal tried to ask Castillo if he even voted in the election, but Castillo’s father kept interrupting, even pushing Deal out of the way.

“Leave us alone,” the father said.

“Sir, I'm just doing my job, asking questions,” said Deal.

“I'm doing my job as his father,” the man replied.

“Do you think your son would carry out those threats for real? Honestly?” Deal asked.

“Absolutely not, absolutely not,” the father said.

Along with having to wear the monitoring bracelet, Castillo is not allowed to leave central Florida or possess firearms, explosives or other dangerous weapons.