Man’s LGBTQ threats included making the Pulse massacre ‘look like a cakewalk,’ feds say
A man made dozens of threats against the LGBTQ+ community, including bombings and mass shootings that would’ve made the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre “look like a cakewalk,” federal officials said.
He is accused of doing so through letters he mailed from June 2013 to September 2021.
Robert Fehring, of Long Island, NY, sent at least 60 “hate-filled” letters threatening violence against LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, businesses and organizations, according to a Justice Department news release with a criminal complaint attached.
The 74-year-old was arrested on Dec. 6.
At his home, the remains of a dead bird inside an envelope addressed to an LGBTQ+ affiliated attorney were found in a garage freezer by the FBI and the state’s joint terrorism task force on Nov. 18, according to the complaint.
Authorities also found two loaded shotguns and two stun guns alongside “hundreds of rounds of ammunition,” the release said.
“As alleged, the defendant’s hate-filled invective and threats of violence directed at members of the LGBTQ+ community have no place in our society and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for New York’s eastern district, said in a statement.
Among many threats Fehring is accused of making, one most recently included a threat against the annual New York City Pride March in 2021. The event attracts huge crowds; an estimated 5 million attended in 2019, ABC News reported.
Fehring warned that there would be “be radio-cont[r]olled devices placed at numerous strategic places” at the pride march in a May 20 letter addressed to the executive director of an organization that plans LGBTQ+ pride events in the city, according to the criminal complaint.
“WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!!! THIS WILL MAKE THE 2016 ORLANDO PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING LOOK LIKE A CAKEWALK,” the letter concluded, according to the complaint.
The FBI believes the reference is to the June 12, 2016 mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida that left about 49 people dead and several others wounded.
Fehring threatened the organizer of another pride event in June, 2021 held in East Meadow, NY in three separate letters, the complaint detailed.
The second letter, mailed on June 16, 2021 contained a doctored Newsday newspaper with derogatory headlines and captions alongside photos of the Eisenhower Pride event held in East Meadow, pictures in the complaint show.
Investigators believe Fehring took the photos himself in-person or received them from someone else who was there at the event, according to the complaint.
A third letter was mailed to the same victim on June 25 that said:
“[W]e were right there you…FREAK!!! They couldn’t get a shot off at you, slithering around the back stage area like a snake. Too many cops. Very disappointed. But your time has come. . .. No matter how long it takes, you will be taken out…. high-powered bullet…. bomb….knife…. whatever it takes,” according to the complaint.
In September, the complaint says, Fehring threatened the owner of a Brooklyn barber shop affiliated with the LGBTQ+ community after the shop received local news coverage.
“Thanks to News 12, we now know who you are, and where you are. And your shop is the perfect target for a bombing and/or graffiti and/or a shattered window front…,” the letter said in part, the complaint said.
When Fehring’s home was searched, News 12 was playing on his TV, investigators said.
They also found “20 multi-colored LGBTQ+ related flags that appear to be identical to flags stolen from flagpoles in Sayville, New York in July 2021,” the complaint stated.
Many of the letters Fehring is accused of sending were marked with a “confidential” stamp, according to the complaint.
When interviewed by federal law enforcement, Fehring said he “authored certain letters” and stamped them with the confidential stamp “to ensure the letters were taken seriously,” the complaint said.
“He further acknowledged ownership of the recovered shotguns and expressed animosity towards the LGBTQ+ community,” the complaint stated.
Fehring was due to appear in court the afternoon of Dec. 6.
He was released on a $100,000 bond and was placed on home detention with location monitoring, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told McClatchy News via email.
“His electronic device is being monitored by pretrial services and he is not permitted to possess any firearms or destructive devices,” Marzulli said. “He is also not permitted to have contact with any victims and may not go to certain locations he threatened.”
“Fehring’s alleged threats to members of the LGBTQ+ community were not only appalling, but dangerous, despite the fact he hadn’t yet acted on his purported intentions,” Michael J. Driscoll, FBI assistant director-in-charge, said in a statement.
Information for Fehring’s defense attorneys was not listed at the time of writing as of Dec. 6.
This story was originally published December 6, 2021 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Man’s LGBTQ threats included making the Pulse massacre ‘look like a cakewalk,’ feds say."
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