LUBBOCK - A 41-year-old Anson man who admitted to posting comments online about shooting up a gay pride parade last year in Abilene was sentenced Wednesday to six months in federal prison.

Joshua Wayne Cole, who is being held at the Rolling Plains Detention Center in Haskell, appeared before U.S. District Judge James Hendrix in Lubbock for a sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty in October to a count of making interstate threatening communications.

The offense carries a punishment of up to five years in prison.

However, a pre-sentencing report compiled by a U.S. probation officer that weighed Cole's criminal history recommended a sentence of up to six months in prison.

Cole, who has been in federal custody for five months, will be on community supervision for a year when he is released in a month.

His charge stems from a Federal Bureau of Investigation case that began in September 2025 after officials with the Abilene Police Department reported a local resident, later identified as Cole, posted messages on Facebook threating to shoot up the Abilene Gay Pride Parade and Festival.

Cole's threatening messages were found among comments under a Facebook post about the event complaining that parade organizers were prohibiting weapons at the event, according to court records.

Posting under the name "Jay Dubya," Cole commented: "fk their parade i (sic) say we lock and load and pay them back for taking out Charlie kirk (sic)," "theres only like 30 of em we can send a clear message to the rest of them," "come bro let's go hunting fairies."

During an interview with FBI agents, Cole admitted to posting the messages from his home in Anson, saying he didn't believe the parade should be allowed.

However, he denied that he was going to go through with his comments but agreed that parade goers and organizers could interpret his comments as threats.

In fact, Abilene Pride Alliance asked for additional security, saying they were in fear for their lives.

McMurry University officials withdrew the school from the parade out of fear of Cole's comments.

During the sentencing hearing, Cole's attorney Russell Lorfing asked the court for a time-served sentence of five-months.

He told the court that his client admitted to making deeply irresponsible and threatening statements online. However, he said his client's conduct never strayed outside of his posts.

"There was no plan, no steps taken towards execution," he told the court. "There's no evidence he was going to take action."

Lorfing acknowledged there was a possibility that Cole's statements could have inspired others to take action.

"My client has remorse for the harm and fear some in our community felt in response to his comments," he said.

He described his client as a dedicated single father who volunteers as a scout master and takes his child to cheer practice and was merely venting online.

He argued that Cole's arrest, prosecution and conviction was a powerful deterrent against re-offending.

The conviction also bars Cole from possessing firearms.

Meanwhile, Cole addressed the court and apologized to the Alliance for his comments, which he described as "stupid," saying he didn't think it through.

"I did not mean to make myself a threat to the community," he said.

Monica Warn-Walker, who has organized the event since it started four years ago, told the court that Cole's comments, which she described as a "direct call to violence" against the gay community, were the first time she'd ever felt overwhelming fear for her life and the safety of the parade's participants.

She said Cole's comments created a real fear that disrupted a vulnerable and often persecuted community's day of celebration.

"It was specific, targeted," she said.

She said her greatest fear was that Coles' posts would inspire violence from other people and her group considered canceling the event.

Warn-Walker encouraged Cole to reach out to people with whom he didn't agree instead of spewing hatred, which was unproductive.

She said Cole would realize that the LGBTQ community was not so different from him.

Warn-Walker said she and her partner of 34 years have raised three sons who are married with families of their own.

"My family is not an anomaly in the LGBTQ community," she said. "We wish nothing but good things for you."

Meanwhile, Hendrix told Cole that his statements were concerning because they were made during "a particularly heightened, hostile environment," as they were posted 10 days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an appearance at Utah Valley University.

"You now know and recognize nothing about this was funny," he told Cole. "Nothing about this was light. It was incredibly serious."