Joshua Wayne Cole to admit in court to making online posts about shooting people at an LGBTQ+ parade in Texas
A Texas man has agreed to plead guilty to going on social media and threatening to shoot people at an LGBTQ+ parade as vengeance for the murder of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
Joshua Wayne Cole signed federal court filings indicating that he planned to plead guilty to a charge of interstate threatening communications at a hearing tentatively set for 16 October, about a month after he was arrested in connection with online posts threatening to open fire on a Pride parade in Abilene, Texas.
The resident of Anson, Texas, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, though defendants who plead guilty before their trials do not typically face maximum punishments.
Cole fell under authorities’ scrutiny on 18 September after those preparing to host the Abilene Pride parade took notice of his threatening Facebook posts and reported them to local police. Police then notified the FBI, as tensions across the US were heightened in the aftermath of Kirk’s killing.
