Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Use Texas Pride Event as ‘Target Practice’
Authorities say the man allegedly referred to Pride as “hunting season.”
A New Mexico man has been arrested over federal charges related to alleged social media posts threatening a Pride event in Texas.
Michael Kenneth Thompson, 44, of Clovis, New Mexico, was arrested on June 28 after allegedly commenting on Facebook in response to an event post about Lubbock Pride Fest 2026 from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on June 27, according to a Department of Justice press release. Lubbock, Texas, is about an hour and a half southeast of Clovis.
In the post, he allegedly referred to Pride as “hunting season” and “target practice,” authorities said.
The FBI National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous tip about the post and tracked the online activity to Thompson.
Thompson told local authorities that he had made the comments and that he had deleted them. He was arrested after.
He told authorities that he was just “a dumbass” and was “just running his mouth,” arresting documents state, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
The DOJ said that Thompson was charged with interstate threatening communications. If convicted, Thompson faces up to five years in prison. The Roswell Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office is investigating the case with assistance from the Clovis Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.
Lubbock Pride Fest went off without any violence on June 27. On Instagram, organizers wrote, “Yesterday was filled with so much love, fun, and community, and we couldn’t have asked for a better celebration. Thank you to everyone who came out and made it so special!”
Leading up to the event, Lubbock Pride president Chante Gieger told The Daily Toreador, “Having a festival allows for people to actually talk and see the people that they’re interacting with that are part of their queer community,” adding, “People enjoy being able to walk around to see each other in their applied best, and see the businesses and the communities that want to be a part of their existence.”
