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A United States Postal Service (USPS) employee was arrested Sunday after threatening on social media to commit a mass shooting at a Pride parade in Texas, the FBI announced on Monday.
Michael Thompson, who resides in Clovis, New Mexico, was taken into custody after authorities received a tip regarding a threat to conduct a mass casualty attack at a Pride event in Lubbock, Texas.
“This weekend’s arrest out of Lubbock, Texas, is the best of this FBI and our law enforcement partners in action—yet again stopping a potentially deadly attack thanks to brilliant execution from our teams and partners,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents, intel teams, and state and local partners out of Texas acted decisively and stopped him before he could act.”
Thompson admitted to making and subsequently deleting the social media posts, authorities said. He also identified himself as a USPS employee. Fox News Digital has reached out to the USPS for comment.
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A man has been arrested for threatening to conduct a mass shooting at a Pride event in Lubbock, Texas, the FBI said Monday. (Axel Schmidt/Reuters)
Authorities said they recovered four firearms from Thompson’s residence. He is legally prohibited from owning firearms due to a prior felony domestic violence conviction, according to the FBI.
Thompson is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm as well as transmitting threatening interstate communications.
“More lives saved thanks to good cops being cops,” Patel added.
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Michael Thompson allegedly admitted to making and later deleting the posts, and authorities said they recovered four firearms from his residence. ( Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Investigators continued to interview Thompson on Monday, and he was expected to make his initial court appearance later that day.
Lubbock hosted its LubbockPRIDE festival over the weekend without incident, according to local reports.
“Yesterday was filled with so much love, fun, and community, and we couldn’t have asked for a better celebration,” organizers wrote on Facebook following the event. “Thank you to everyone who came out and made it so special!”
Organizers of a major pride event in Lubbock, Texas, said the event went on without any issues. (AP)
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In a separate incident in Brunswick, Georgia, a man was arrested earlier this month after police said he threatened to attack attendees at a local LGBTQ+ Pride event. Christopher Waller, 25, was charged with making terroristic threats stemming from comments posted in a local Facebook group on June 9.