An Ohio resident who nearly decapitated a woman during a confrontation last year is now facing federal charges over a post on X, the Elon Musk-owned social network formerly known as Twitter, where he vowed to “cleanse” an entire city of Black people, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.

Scott Hanna, 30, was arrested Friday morning on one count of making interstate communications with a threat to injure, after the Cincinnati Police Department sent screenshots of the July 31 post to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“Organizing mobs to kill all the apes in Cincinnati Since @GovMikeDeWine and the @OSHP won’t do anything about this nonsense,” the post read. “We the people need to paint the town red and KILL THEM ALL. Fill the morgues and cleanse this city of blacks. By Sunday we are aiming to have killed 30k[.]”

Cincinnati has a Black population of about 120,000. The affidavit doesn’t specify how Hanna allegedly planned to carry out his threat, or what it was that set him off, but video of an interracial brawl in downtown Cincinnati earlier this week went megaviral, and appears to be, based on the timeline, what could have inspired it.

Hanna lives in Dayton with his grandfather, a retired judge, according to public records. In an initial appearance on Friday afternoon in Dayton federal court, prosecutors asked for Hanna to remain detained pending trial, arguing he was too dangerous to be released.

open image in gallery

Hanna does not yet have an attorney listed in public filings, and was unable to be reached.

When the FBI received word of the offending message posted Thursday to Hanna’s X account, agents immediately submitted an emergency disclosure request to the company for the identity of the user behind @generalquinny, according to the FBI affidavit.

X responded with an email address consisting of the first three letters of Hanna’s first name, plus his entire last name, the affidavit states. It says the FBI then reviewed @generalquinny’s X account, which included at least one photograph that appeared to match Hanna’s official Ohio driver’s license photo, and agents had AT&T trace the IP address from where the post threatening mass murder originated.

The account was in Hanna’s name, at an address in Dayton matching the one listed in state motor vehicle records, the affidavit says.

Next, investigators submitted an emergency disclosure request to Google for the email address associated with the X account in question, which was soon identified as belonging to Hanna, and listed his personal cell as a recovery number and his Google Pay account as having been set up under his name and address, according to the affidavit.

FBI agents brought their findings to local law enforcement, who told agents they were familiar with Hanna from a past encounter.

On September 11, 2024, police responded to the home where Hanna lives for a reported menacing in progress, the affidavit goes on. While officers were en route, Hanna called dispatch and asked to speak with a detective, it says.

“[Hanna] told them if they were not going to charge a specified individual then he was going to cut off her head,” the affidavit continues. “He stated, ‘If you don’t want an incident then you better send cops to [my address] because I’m f***ing done with this s***.’”

open image in gallery

Hanna subsequently “swung a full-sized sword at her neck, resulting in a serious physical injury and what appeared to be a partial decapitation,” according to the affidavit. State court records do not provide further details, and it is unclear if Hanna ever faced any serious charges over the situation.

What is known, however, is that Hanna called a police officer the “N-word” in the aftermath, having become “extremely irate” once cops showed up on the scene, the affidavit says.

“Local law enforcement noted that they had previous contact with Hanna when he claimed the same specified individual had broken into his residence,” according to the affidavit.

In a statement issued Friday, FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola said the bureau “aggressively investigates those who threaten our communities with violence.”

“Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences,” Iatarola said.

If convicted, Hanna faces up to five years in federal prison.