Police Charge Man With Gun at Lubbock Protest With Making Interstate Threats

Twenty-five-year-old Emmanuel Quinones, who brought a loaded semi-automatic rifle to a Lubbock protest on Saturday, May 30th, has now been charged with making interstate threats.

KAMC News reports that Quinones admitted in an interview that he had previously made social media posts designed to "intimidate the president and MAGA instigators."

Watch: Raw video of the Lubbock protest

A press release says Quinones shared a post on Facebook that "intimated that he planned to obtain gun parts to 'off racists and MAGA people.'"

Quinones, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, said he was at the Lubbock, Texas protest "to protect demonstrators from these so-called MAGA (Make America Great Again) instigators, who he planned to shoot on sight." Quinones told authorities only he could have identified these counter-protesters.

According to FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno, "[Quinones] threatened multiple lives including the President of the United States and that will not be tolerated. We will continue working with our local, state, and federal partners to apprehend and charge violent instigators who are exploiting legitimate, peaceful protests and engaging in violations of federal law.”

Quinones was initially arrested and charged with disorderly conduct with a firearm after he brought a fully loaded rifle to a Lubbock Black Lives Matter protest. He refused a Lubbock Police Officer's verbal commands to drop the firearm, and only dropped it once the officer drew his gun. Quinones was then tackled by a protester, who was also arrested and charged with assault.