Arizona Man Charged with Terroristic Threats After Voicemail Targeting LGBTQ+ Parade

Maricopa County jail records show that Austin Jay Curtis, 32, of Gilbert, was arrested on October 12 and booked on a felony stalking count, a felony charge of making a terrorist threat, and a misdemeanor for threatening or intimidating. His bond was set at $75,000. Investigators said Curtis left more than 100 voicemails for a former high-school classmate and also used social-media messages to convey threats. Authorities have not publicly identified a specific Pride event as the intended target, although Phoenix Pride occurred the weekend of October 10.

The Advocate

Police reports indicate that Curtis arrived at the woman’s residence the day after the voicemail campaign, striking her door and shouting before leaving bags and boxes that prompted a bomb-disposal response. The team found no explosives but recovered knives, keys, dog-waste bags, and assorted belongings. Curtis later told investigators he left the knives so the woman could defend herself. During a subsequent police interview, Curtis acknowledged the threatening remarks but characterized them as “jokes” and said his statements about attacking LGBTQ+ people were meant to test the limits of free speech. He expressed surprise that his arrest took “this long.”

The Advocate

The Curtis case follows several other alleged threats against LGBTQ+ communities in the state. In April 3, 2026, Marvin Aneer Jalo, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of terroristic threats for planning an ISIS-inspired explosive-drone attack on the Phoenix Pride parade and was sentenced to 1.75 years, with credit for 599 days served. In 2025, Treven Michael Gokey, 49, was arrested on two felony terroristic-threat counts after threatening to shoot patrons at the Cruisin’ 7th bar and invoking “Charlie Kirk” as a martyr. An ongoing investigation in Tucson involves Ousman Ceesay, 44, who shot and killed two men outside a LGBTQIA+ venue before taking his own life, leaving a note listing several LGBTQIA+-associated businesses.

The Advocate

Curtis now faces prosecution on three felony counts and one misdemeanor. If convicted, Arizona law permits substantial prison terms for terroristic-threat offenses, in addition to possible restitution and extended supervision. The case underscores heightened law-enforcement attention to hate-motivated threats against LGBTQ+ individuals in Arizona.

The Advocate