A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee was arrested Sunday after allegedly threatening on social media to carry out a mass shooting at a Pride event in Lubbock, Texas, the FBI announced Monday.
Michael Thompson, a resident of Clovis, New Mexico, was taken into custody following an alert from authorities regarding the threat. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the FBI and its law enforcement partners acted decisively to prevent a potentially deadly attack.
Thompson reportedly admitted to making and then deleting the social media posts and identified himself as a USPS employee. Authorities recovered four firearms from Thompson's residence. The FBI stated that he is legally prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony domestic violence conviction.
Thompson faces charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and transmitting threatening interstate communications. He was expected to make his initial court appearance on Monday.
The LubbockPRIDE festival took place over the weekend without incident, according to local reports. Organizers expressed gratitude for a successful and celebratory event.
In a separate case earlier this month, a man was arrested in Brunswick, Georgia, for allegedly threatening to attack attendees at a local LGBTQ+ Pride event. That individual, Christopher Waller, 25, was charged with making terroristic threats after posting comments in a local Facebook group.