an arizona man threatened to drive a u-haul into a pride parade and open fire. he told police he was joking.

via ABC15 and FOX 10 Phoenix

Austin Jay Curtis, 32, was arrested at his home in Gilbert, Arizona, on Oct. 12, the day after the Phoenix Pride parade stepped off downtown. He is charged with stalking, making a terrorist threat and threatening or intimidating, ABC15 reported from court records.

The case is mostly about one woman. Police allege Curtis left more than 100 voicemails for a former high school classmate, messaged her on social media, and on Oct. 11 left bags at her Chandler home containing knives, keys and dog waste. A bomb squad found no explosives. The voicemails, according to court records cited by ABC15, included threats against her, and statements about driving a U-Haul through a parade of gay people and "start firing at everybody." FOX 10 reported the same language from police and court records, and said officers seized several firearms from his apartment.

After his arrest, ABC15 reported, Curtis admitted making statements about hurting people at a Pride parade but said it was "just a joke." Both outlets report he told investigators he had sent "about 9 million messages" and was surprised it took this long to get arrested.

It is not clear that any specific Pride event was targeted, FOX 10 notes. He was being held on a $75,000 bond, and FOX 10 lists a preliminary hearing for Oct. 22. The charges are allegations and he has not been convicted.

The queer press only caught up with this on Monday, a week after the arrest.