Police investigate terror threat against gay bars in Florida city

by Rob Howard
Associate Editor

After the Pulse nightclub terror attack in Orlando in June, police in Florida are taking no chances with an Orlando-style threat to gay bars in Wilton Manors, a heavily gay city just north of Ft. Lauderdale.

The Associated Press reports, “Law enforcement officials are investigating threats posted on Facebook to "exterminate" LGBT people living in a predominantly gay city near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“Wilton Manors Commissioner Justin Flippen says the threat is being taken seriously by the FBI and local police.”

According to Towleroad.com, the man making the threats is Craig Jungwirth, “an internet troll with a criminal history and a record of harassing the gay community.”

Jungwirth has been in the news before. According to the blog Peacock Panache, “Earlier this year we reported on Craig Jungwirth – a man who took over the Beach Bear Weekend event in Florida and used it to solicit and scam money from unsuspecting members of the LGBTQ community. What began as a story of his harassment of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence exploded after information surfaced that not only were the events listed for his Beach Bear Weekend event fake but also all hotel bookings through the event website didn’t actually reserve local hotels (as they’d never spoken to Jungwirth or any event organizers).”

According to Towleroad, Jungwirth left this message on a Facebook page: “None of you deserve to live. If you losers thought the Pulse nightclub shooting was bad, wait till you see what I’m planning for Labor Day.”

The AP reports that Wilton Manors Police Chief Paul O’Connell tells local news outlets that the FBI has spoken to Jungwirth, and that his department is conducting an “intense investigation.”

NBCMiami.com reports, “In response to the online threats, some bars in Wilton Manors, like Rumors Bar and Grill, stepped up security with armed guards.

“O'Connell said that as the holiday weekend approaches, officers will be out in full force in Wilton Manors.

"’We're gonna have extra patrols, high visibility throughout the holiday weekend and we know Fort Lauderdale Police and the Broward Sheriff's Office are going to work with us on that,’ he said.”

The Gayly – September 2, 2016 @ 8:30 a.m.