HARTFORD, Conn. — A man with a history of allegedly making threats directed at Bristol Hospital was arrested and accused of threatening its CEO.

Richard Stark, 58, faces charges of second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, according to Lt. Ulric Berube of the Bristol Police Department.

Berube said employees of the hospital became concerned with social media posts allegedly made by Stark. According to Berube, Stark has been accused of making threats toward Bristol Health’s CEO.

Stark has a history of allegedly threatening behavior toward the hospital that he indicated in previous social media posts stems from his time being held at the facility as a psychiatric patient, according to court documents.

In September 2012, Stark allegedly expressed a desire to commit violence at Bristol Hospital, calling 911 and stating what his plans were, court papers said. He hung up and later called back, saying he would be armed and was “heading to the hospital,” according to court documents. He said he would be “demanding my medical records.”

“I’ve been talking for years, it’s time to take action…,” Stark said in 2012, court papers say. He said he wanted “to create a news media frenzy…That’s what I want. If they have to shoot me to get this ugly, bile, degenerate policy that runs Bristol Hospital, then that’s what I have to do,” according to court records.

Stark was also arrested in 2016 for posting a letter to the hospital’s Facebook page titled “Stark’s Illegal Detention at Bristol Hospital,” court documents said. In the post, Stark alluded to “hearing voices” and being “furious” that he was being held as a “psychiatric patient.”

Stark was arrested again in 2019 after allegedly making a Facebook post that alluded to his previous desire to violence at the hospital, but that case was later dropped by prosecutors. He has also previously been arrested and convicted of sending harassing messages to the FBI.

Stark was held on $50,000 bond following his most recent arrest and was expected to face a judge in New Britain Superior Court.

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