Postal Worker Arrested for Alleged Mass Shooting Threat at Texas Pride Event: DOJ

Michael Kenneth Thompson, 44, was arrested on June 28 at his residence in Clovis, New Mexico, following a tip about the planned attack in Lubbock, Texas.

Rachel Acenas

Published: 6/30/2026, 11:49:51 PM EDT

Postal Worker Arrested for Alleged Mass Shooting Threat at Texas Pride Event: DOJ — The United State Postal Service emblem is seen on the side of a mailbox in Monterey Park, Calif., on Feb. 4, 2025. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

A United States Postal Service (USPS) employee has been arrested for allegedly threatening to commit a mass shooting at the Pride parade in Texas, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

Michael Kenneth Thompson, 44, was arrested by the FBI on June 28 at his residence in Clovis, New Mexico, following a tip about the planned attack in Lubbock, Texas.

The annual LGBTQ+ celebration took place on June 27 and was organized by LubbockPRIDE. It was held at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts Plaza, with festivities that spanned into the surrounding streets of the arts district.

Thompson admitted to authorities that he posted threatening comments on social media in response to a post published by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about the event on Facebook. The comments referred to the event as “hunting season” and “target practice.” Thompson also allegedly stated that he did not need assistance but “just more ammo." He also admitted to later deleting those social media posts.

The 14th annual festival proceeded as planned despite the online threats.

“Thank you to everyone that attended yesterday’s Lubbock Pridefest! It was a hot one, but it sure was fun celebrating and being surrounded by the community all day,” organizers wrote on Facebook.

Thompson has been charged with interstate threatening communications and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

He will remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for July. It’s unclear if Thompson has retained legal representation.

Meanwhile, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico will prosecute the case.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with help from the Clovis Police Department.

FBI Director Kash Patel credited his agency and partners for thwarting the potential mass shooting.

“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,” Patel wrote on X. “Our agents, intel teams, and state and local partners out of Texas acted decisively and stopped him before he could act.”

The case marked a similar incident earlier this month in Brunswick, Georgia.

According to the Brunswick Police Department, a man was arrested after local law enforcement said he threatened to attack attendees at a local LGBTQ+ Pride event. Christopher Waller, 25, was charged with making threatening remarks in connection to comments posted to a local Facebook group on June 9. Waller was arrested on June 12 and has been charged with terroristic threats, according to a news release by the Brunswick Police Department.

NTD has reached out to USPS for comments and did not receive a response before publication time.