Federal agents and Texas authorities have arrested a right-wing extremist believed to be a threat to national security who they said planned to carry out a mass shooting at a Walmart.
According to officials, 28-year-old Coleman Thomas Blevins, from Kerrville, Texas, was arrested by the FBI in the 1000 block of Junction Highway on Friday on a warrant for a Terroristic Threat to Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury. A search of the suspect’s home turned up firearms, ammunition and materials officials described as “radical right-wing paraphernalia” including books, confederate flags, and handwritten documents “were seized.”
Investigators said they intercepted a message from Blevins on May 27 indicating he was “preparing to proceed with a mass shooting,” and that the threat included Walmart.
Blevins is on felony probation and was not supposed to have guns, authorities said. He was booked into the Kerr County Jail in Kerrville, a city about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio. Jail records didn’t list an attorney who could comment on Blevins’ behalf.
“This case reminds us that we need to always be vigilant. Many think ‘that can’t happen here’, and it was well on the way to happening,” said Sheriff Larry Leitha, “Our investigators did outstanding work in this case, and possibly saved many lives. The plot interrupted in this case is unthinkable.”