HispanicBusiness

A Lexington man faces federal charges stemming from a thread of messages on Facebook about a confidential informant who had helped provide information on a local drug trafficking ring.

Investigators say Charles Edward Adams posted the threatening comments in August after a family friend -- identified in court documents as "DC" -- was indicted in a Lexington drug case. Adams blamed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives informant for DC's arrest and posted pictures and made posts about "snitches," according to the affidavit.

Adams appeared in court Monday on charges that he threatened a federal informant with bodily harm with an intent to retaliate, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.

An affidavit written by ATF Special Agent E. Douglas Robinson says Robinson used a confidential informant who made multiple controlled buys of cocaine and firearms last month.

On Aug. 21, 2012, after an approximately 12-month investigation into "armed drug trafficking," ATF, federal marshals and members of the Lexington police made several arrests.

On Aug. 21, Adams posted a threatening comment in reference to a picture of the confidential informant, the document says.

In the posts, which contained expletives, Adams called the informant a snitch and indicated that snitches should be killed, the affidavit said.

In another post, Adams posted a picture of what the agent described "to be a drum magazine containing multiple rounds of unknown caliber ammunition." He also posted a picture about blood and loyalty.

On Aug.22, the confidential informant was contacted by a friend who told the informant he or she was getting threats on Facebook.

Adams had been in court that day for a hearing to determine how he should be monitored following a parole violation. Adams had previously been convicted for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and he had been on supervised released, the affidavit said.

While he was in court that day, several of the defendants were having initial hearings in U.S. District Court, according to court records. The next day, Adams posted a status, saying he was sick of people who snitch and said the snitches "need ya ... heads bashed all the way in ... free my lil bruh DC..." That message included a hashtag that said they "need to be killed."

Shortly after that, the ATF agent got a federal search warrant on a Facebook account for "Charles MrBlackflagmusic Adams," which was determined to be Adams' page, the affidavit says.

Adams was being held in the Fayette County Detention Center. He has a preliminary hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court.