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Man Who Allegedly Threatened Sacramento Mayor Identified

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) – Sacramento police have identified the man accused of making threats against Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Police have arrested 43-year-old Fred Nelson on a probation violation.

The incident happened this morning around 8 a.m. at The Grange, a restaurant in downtown Sacramento.

The mayor was having breakfast with his staff when a man walked up to him. The mayor's assistant was with Mayor Johnson when the man approached.

"He goes 'You need to hear this' and the mayor looked at him and he said 'You need to hear this'.  And he leaned and whispered in the mayor's ear," said R.E. Graswich, the mayor's assistant. "I couldn't hear it.  I was several feet away but he (Kevin Johnson) immediately stepped back and looked at the security detail."

The mayor's spokesperson, Joaquin McPeek, says the man said: "You'll be out of office in four hours.  You'll be dead in four hours."

The Mayor's security detail called for back-up and the man who described as well-dressed and calm was taken into custody.  Police say the suspect was not armed.

The suspect has been taken to a nearby hospital.  The security force believes the man may be mentally unbalanced and not really a true threat to the mayor.

The mayor was not hurt.

McPeek says Johnson plans to keep his regular schedule today, attending meetings like nothing happened.

This was the first public threat to Johnson since he won office in 2008. Johnson was a three-time NBA All Star while playing for the Phoenix Suns during the 1990s.

The mayor has declined to talk about what happened.

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