Florida man accused of threatening Orlando pride event

Name: Florida man accused of threatening Orlando pride event
Uploaded: 2025-06-17T10:22:23-04:00
Description: A Central Florida man is facing federal charges after authorities say he allegedly posted an online threat targeting an LGBTQ+ pride event in Orlando, just days before its scheduled start.

Florida man accused of threatening Orlando pride event

A Central Florida man is facing federal charges after authorities say he allegedly posted an online threat targeting an LGBTQ+ pride event in Orlando, just days before its scheduled start.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Central Florida man is facing federal charges after authorities say he posted an online threat targeting an LGBTQ+ pride event in Orlando, just days before its scheduled start.

What happened?

What we know:

A man from Dunnellon is facing federal charges for a post that he allegedly made on Facebook.

Goblin Market, a discount art market in Orlando, posted on Facebook promoting a Pride event over the weekend at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. Federal court documents say the event is advertised as Orlando's biggest, free gay pride event.

Investigators say Michael Stephen Wilcox then commented on the post with a meme. The meme showed what appears to be a hand loading bullets into the chamber of a gun with the words "Can't expect God to do all the work" over it.

The meme that Michael Stephen Wilcox allegedly commented on a Facebook post promoting a Pride event in Orlando.

Wilcox was arrested on June 13, just one day before the event was supposed to start and two days after the nine-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

What we don't know:

Authorities have not yet released details on Wilcox's potential motives for making the threats.

What's next:

Wilcox is facing a charge of transmitting an interstate threat to injure, and he could face up to five years in jail if convicted.

Michael Stephen Wilcox was arrested on June 13 and is facing a charge of transmitting an interstate threat to injure.

‘It's terrifying’

What they're saying:

"To know that there are people out there that are actively trying to hurt folks like myself and families like ours, it's not just disappointing, it's terrifying," Tatiana Quiroga, executive director of Come Out with Pride, said. "That was something that literally changed the path of how Orlando moved forward with walking alongside the LGBTQ+ community, so we've already seen the worst case happen. We definitely know that it's real, and it can hit home."

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