Man convicted for threatening to bring 'sniper rifle' to Austin Pride Parade in 2023

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County District Attorney's Office announced in a Thursday afternoon press release that a 57-year-old man was convicted on Aug. 28 for threatening to harm Austin ISD board members for their participation in the 2023 Austin Pride Parade.

Michael Boone pled guilty to and was convicted of Terroristic Threat to Cause Imminent Serious Bodily Injury, a class B misdemeanor. The judge also found the threat constituted a hate crime, upgrading the charge to a class A misdemeanor.

"You sick, pathetic humans for allowing and promoting this nonsense.  I’ll have my sniper rifle ready and pointed straight at you until one by one you’re an oblivion in America’s history, but burning hotly in hell," wrote Boone on Aug. 11, 2023, in AISD's "Let's Talk" application.

The 2023 Austin Pride Parade and Festival happened the next day.

The Austin ISD Police Department was able to pull Boone's IP address from the message. The address was associated with Boone, who lived in Richmond Hills, Georgia. FBI agents assisted AISD Police in the arrest, which happened "just hours" before the parade started, the release said.

“The Travis County District Attorney’s office does not tolerate acts of hate in our community, takes hate crimes seriously, and is committed to holding people who commit these crimes accountable,” said Travis County DA José Garza in the release. “Our office is grateful for the AISD Police Department and our other law enforcement partners who were involved in quickly identifying the suspect and who assisted in the investigation that ultimately kept our community safe.”

According to the release, Boone will serve two years' probation and must complete 75 hours of community service, mental health treatment and counseling. He'll also have to write an apology letter and have no further contact with AISD.