U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Lauderdale County Man Sentenced to Over 3 Years in Federal Prison for Making Threats of Violence Over the Internet
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi
Defendant Threatened School Shooting, Violence Against African-Americans
Jackson, Miss. – A Lauderdale County man was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for making threats of violence over the internet.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in May and July 2020, Christian Blake Bunyard, 21, utilized Snapchat to threaten a school shooting, to kill and rape African Americans in Oxford, Mississippi, and to rape another Snapchat user if she did not provide nude photos.
Bunyard was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in November 2020. He entered a guilty plea in April 2021 to making threats in interstate commerce and making an interstate transmission of an extortionate communication.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Maher Dimachkie of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie prosecuted the case.
Updated February 26, 2024