ROCKLAND — A hearing that was scheduled on Sept. 26 for a 25-year-old man from Connecticut who was arrested for allegedly threatening on Facebook to take a gun to Walmart, has been postponed due to the possibility that the man will now be charged under federal law.

Jeremy H. Rogers, of Norwalk, Conn., was arrested at approximately 7 p.m., Aug. 22, and was charged with terrorizing, terrorizing with a dangerous weapon and illegal possession of a firearm.

Since Rogers may now be charged under federal law, David Paris, of Bath, who was the court appointed attorney for Rogers, filed a motion Sept. 17 in Knox County Unified Court to withdraw from the case.

“There appears to be a high probability that defendant will be charged under federal law,” said Paris in the motion. He also stated the “defendant’s interests are best served by appointment of local counsel who concurrently practices federal criminal defense.”

The court granted his motion on Sept. 19.

Attorney Jonathan Handelman, of Brunswick, has now been appointed to represent Rogers.

Rogers is still being held at the Knox County Jail on $50,000 cash bail. On Sept. 15, he wrote a handwritten letter from jail requesting a bail reduction hearing.

“My current bail is set as $50,000 cash which is very unreasonable and is why I am requesting this hearing,” Rogers stated in his letter.

Rogers made his initial appearance in Knox County Unified Court Aug. 23 before Judge Barbara Raimondi.

According to the affidavit filed in court, Thomaston Police Chief Tim Hoppe alerted Rockport police that he received notification from the New York State Police stating that Rogers had allegedly sent a video via Facebook messenger to a woman in New York while wearing a mask with an AR-15 firearm. In the video, Rogers said he was going to Walmart, according to the affidavit. His Facebook page showed that he lived in Rockport.

A second video showed Rogers, this time without a mask, making belittling comments about a woman while pointing a gun at his head, according to the affidavit.

Although Rogers did not mention a specific Walmart in this threats, police and Walmart management decided to close the Thomaston store since it is the closest to Rockport. The store closed at 9 p.m. Wednesday evening, Aug. 21, and reopened with normal business hours the following morning.

Police also found another video on Facebook, this time showing Rogers shooting off a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle into the air at a Mount Pleasant Street property in Rockport, police said.

They said that the property was heavily fenced with barbed wire on top of the fence.

Rogers had previous convictions in 2016 in Connecticut for criminal possession of a firearm, with the risk of injuring a child. He also had a suspended driver’s license, according to the court document.

A dispositional conference hearing that was originally scheduled for Sept. 26 is now scheduled for Nov. 14 with the judge, state, and the defense attorney for Rogers to see if an agreement in the case can be reached.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com