Standoff With Mahopac Veteran Ends Peacefully
A several-hour standoff Saturday in Mahopac between an unarmed Afghanistan war veteran and law enforcement that ended peacefully made national news when the suspect began live-streaming updates from social media claiming he was the victim of “Red Flag” laws, and followers from coast to coast began encouraging him to stand his ground.
According to Carmel Police Chief Michael Cazarri, at about 2 p.m. Saturday, an officer went to speak with Alexander Booth, 28, at his Putnam Drive home regarding a prior domestic incident. When the responding officer mistakenly thought he heard gunshots, Booth, a registered gun owner, barricaded himself inside.
It was later assumed that the noise the officer heard was the sound of Booth smashing things inside his garage and home.
Nearby houses were evacuated as the Carmel Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County Emergency Response Team and Negotiation Team, and the Westchester County Department of Public Safety’s special response and negotiating team responded to the scene.
The incident escaladed when Booth started posting live social media videos in which he could be seen wearing tactical gear and sharing live updates from his point of view inside the home.
In one Instagram post, Booth, using the name “whiskeywarrior556,” is standing on what appears to be his back porch drinking from a thermos and saying: “For the record, I have no firearms on me, whatsoever. Magazine empty…”
In another video post, he is hanging out of a window of his home saying: “So what do you call a cop that enforces gun laws? A Red Coat f—-t.”
In yet another post, again drinking from a thermos and doing “cheers” with his camera phone, Booth says: “To the boys in blue, the thin blue line: What’s it like to arrest someone on the grounds of high-capacity magazines – which, 30 rounds is standard capacity, just for the record. What’s it like to know that the founding fathers would s–t on you?”
These posts rallied a response from gun owners and gun enthusiasts nationwide who claimed Booth was the victim of “Red Flag” laws, posting “#supportwhiskeywarrior556.”
“Red Flag” laws are gun control laws that permit law enforcement or family members to petition a court for the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves. Such a situation is often sparked by a domestic incident.
According to Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley Jr., throughout the standoff, the sheriff’s department was inundated with phone calls, emails and social media messages that “overwhelmed our systems and shut down our ability to communicate with our community.”
“The incident was widely reported to be a law enforcement effort to seize firearms under ‘Red Flag’ laws. This information is incorrect,” stated the sheriff’s department the day after the standoff. “The law enforcement response and subsequent arrest was related to a domestic violence investigation. The citizen involved is safe and in police custody.”
Cazarri also expressed frustration over the role social media played in escalating the incident.
“The negotiators were very close a few times in getting the individual to come out of the residence peacefully and the posts that were on Instagram and on other social media were just inciting him,” he said.
After almost seven hours of negotiations, Booth surrendered himself at about 9:30 p.m.
“This is a person in crisis having a mental illness, having issues, and he didn’t need people on social media telling him that his rights were being violated,” Cazarri said after the standoff.
Booth is facing charges related to the previous domestic incident, including burglary, criminal trespass, criminal contempt, aggravated harassment and petit larceny.
Police did not recover any weapons or ammunition from Booth’s home.
