State Troopers Arrest Katy Man Threatening TX Lawmakers

Texas law enforcement officers on Saturday arrested a man from Katy for threatening state lawmakers ahead of protests at the state capitol, according to KXAN.

Thousands of Texans had planned to gather at the state capitol on Saturday as part of nationwide “No Kings Day” protests, scheduled for the same day that President Donald Trump had arranged to hold a military parade in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, the same day as his birthday. 

Early on Saturday morning, a longtime leader of the Minnesota House Democratic Farmer-Labor Caucus was assassinated in her home along with her husband, prompting fears about the potential for widespread political violence or acts of terrorism at the massive demonstrations.

Ahead of the protests at the Texas Capitol on Saturday, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported that credible threats had been made against Texas lawmakers who planned to attend the demonstrations. 

The agency evacuated the Capitol on Saturday afternoon and closed the grounds to sweep it for threats, but reopened it for the public at about 4:40 p.m. after identifying the threat. The demonstration had been scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Though the department of public safety has not announced the name of the arrested, law enforcement sources told KXAN that the man connected to the threat was Robert Leroy Bowers, a 45-year-old man living in Katy, a suburb of Houston.

The agency put out a regional alert to state troopers on Saturday flagging Bowers’s vehicle in connection with the threats. State troopers pulled him over as part of a traffic stop in La Grange — a town that is roughly halfway along the driving route that Google Maps suggests from Katy to Austin. 

Bowers is currently being held in the Fayette County Jail, per KXAN. Booking records indicated that he has been charged with operating a motor vehicle with only one license plate, a misdemeanor in Texas.

Sources told KXAN that Bowers had a gun in his vehicle when he was arrested. DPS said that there is no longer an active threat to Texas lawmakers, but the agency is continuing its investigation into the incident.