U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Lauderdale County Man Indicted for Making Threats of Violence Over Internet
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Mississippi
Indictment Alleges Defendant Threatened School Shooting, Violence Against African-Americans
Jackson, Miss. – Christian Blake Bunyard, 18, of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, has been charged in a federal criminal indictment with two counts of making threats in interstate commerce and one count of making an interstate transmission of an extortionate communication, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
According to the indictment, in May and July 2020, Bunyard 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 appeared for arraignment today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson. The case has been set for trial on December 17, 2020 before U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate in Jackson.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department.
The public is reminded that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Updated November 10, 2020