A Kalispell man accused of making threats on social media had several firearms, which made law officers take his threats more seriously.

David Joseph Lenio, 28, faces felony counts of intimidation and criminal defamation, according to documents filed Wednesday in Flathead County District Court. He is accused of making threats to schools and Jewish people.

The documents reveal that on Monday, the day Lenio was arrested, police found two rifles in his home and a handgun in his vehicle, as well as ammunition of various calibers. 

His roommate told police that on Sunday, Lenio had obtained a rifle and other items from a storage unit and brought them to the residence.

“This is, as far as killing people and that kind of thing, I’d say this is the most serious that we’ve dealt with, at least on the magnitude that he was talking,” Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said.

Prior to the actual arrest, investigators learned about the guns, which Nasset said “escalated our concern.” 

Those findings gave credibility to a multitude of threats Lenio posted on Twitter this month. An anti-gun-violence activist in Washington, D.C., originally raised the alarm about Lenio. The man contacted authorities in Oregon because he thought that’s where Lenio lived.

Lenio’s tweets included passages such as: “I bet I’d take out at least a whole #classroom & score 30+ if I put my mind to it,” according to the court documents.

Authorities in Oregon eventually contacted the Kalispell Police Department and Nasset led the effort to locate Lenio. The law-enforcement effort included the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the Whitefish Police Department and the FBI.

Lenio was arrested at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Monday afternoon.

Nasset said that his department looks into social media complaints more and more often to determine which are credibly dangerous. 

“It’s kind of taken the place of the neighborhood dispute, really,” he said.

Lenio had an initial appearance in court this week. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 19.